The Life and Times of Pinecone Face
by awesomest one ever
Summary: Thalia's life from when she met Luke to the end of TLO. Rated T for language. R&R!
1. Meeting Luke

**This is Thalia's life, starting from when she met Luke to the end of TLO. I hope you like it!!!!!!!! R&R! This is all in Thalia's POV.**

**I don't own PJO.**

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I tried to find the right outfit to go with my new haircut. I had decided to go with a punk kind of style, because it just suited me better. The only problem is, virtually none of my clothes matched! What is wrong with me?! I try to embrace my inner personality rather than my superficial attitude I used to win over friends last year, only to find that my wardrobe basically sucks? So much for 'a great start to the sixth grade'! Instead, I'll be the stupid eleven year old who can't even get her look right!

I finally managed to find a Green Day t-shirt, a black sweatshirt, dark blue jeans, and my combat boots. Let's see what everyone thinks of _that!_

I grabbed a granola bar from the counter and rode my bike to school. All of my ex-friends stared at me as I rode by. I heard laughs behind my back, which stung at first, but I eventually decided to just let it go. What was the point? No one gets in trouble on the first day of school! The second day… well that depends on what they say. They just better watch it.

I locked my bike to the bike rack and walked inside. I got a lot of stares, from a _lot _of students. I had no idea there were going to be this many kids! And it was just the sixth graders coming to school today! Well, and a few eighth graders. They were showing us around the school.

I walked up to the piece of paper that told us what groups we were in, and which eighth grader would be showing us around. I saw that I was in Group 2 with a bunch of kids I didn't know, and a couple that I did know. Our eighth grade guide was… Luke Castellan. Oh great, some older guy who was probably a sexist pig. According to the dumbass paper, Group 2 was meeting in the gym. Oh, joy, I get to meet some sexist, older guy and a bunch of random people with unfortunate last names in a smelly old gym. Isn't middle school great?

I looked around for a little bit, but I couldn't figure out where the gym was. I walked up to a really tall guy. I tapped his shoulder, and he turned around.

When I first saw him, I froze. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Could he be an angel from heaven? He had sandy blonde hair, blue eyes, and was really, _really _hot. Then he gave me a smile that would give every girl a heart attack.

"Hi, can I help you with something?" the angel asked.

"Uh, yeah, do you, uh, know where the, uh, gym is?" I asked. I swallowed.

"Yeah, it's that way," he said, pointing in a direction that I barely noticed. "What's your name?"

"Thalia. Thalia Grace," I said. "You?"

"I'm Luke Castellan. It's nice to meet you," Luke said. It sounded like he meant it, too.

"Nice to meet you, too." Wait, _Luke Castellan?! _The guy that will be my guide all day? Which means I'll get to stare at _him_ all day? I love middle school!!!

I ran into the gym. Carla Fontinelli walked up to me. She was one of my ex-friends I mentioned earlier, and she had really obvious extensions.

"Hey, Thals, what's up with your hair? Did it go through a blender? Or did it just decide to be freaky, because you're a freak?" she said. Everyone laughed.

"Oh, I'm a freak? Well, at least _I _can come up with a clever insult, and _my _hair doesn't look completely fake!" I said back. Everyone was now laughing at her.

She gasped and covered her mouth in such a cliché way, I was about to insult her on that! However, she beat me to the insulting.

"Well, well, at least _I _have _two _parents, rather than a mom who didn't even get married! How much of a slut can she be?" Carla yelled.

Oh, that was low. She was _so _going to get it. Before I could beat the crap out of her, someone else spoke.

"Hey!" someone yelled. I turned around to see… Luke. "You don't make fun of someone because of their parents! Just because her parents didn't get married, doesn't give you the right to throw it in Thalia's face!"

Oh, my, god. He's defending me now? And this is just the first day of school? How great can high school _be?!_

"Why are you defending her? It's not like she's worth it," Carla said, fluttering her eyes at Luke. Oh, she is _so _getting it.

Suddenly, an accidental spasm of motion in my arm made my fist connect with Carla's nose. I wonder what that's all about.

"Ow!" she yelled. She turned to Luke. "Aren't you going to, like, tell on her to a teacher or something?"

Luke gave her an innocent look. "Tell on her for what? I didn't see anything."

This day just gets better and better.

_(A few days later)_

Luke and I were pretty good friends already. We had a lot in common. We both only had a mother, we had ADHD and dyslexia, and we both _loved _Green Day. Luke was helping me with my English class. Currently, we were working on Greek Mythology.

"Ugh, this is so _confusing!_" I yelled. I threw my book down. "How do you know all this, anyway? You're as bad at school as I am!"

"I just… felt like it was important." He didn't look willing to say anything else.

"Why?" I asked, prepared to have to draw it out of him.

"It doesn't matter," he muttered.

"Come on, Luke. I thought we could tell each other anything," I pleaded.

"Oh, no, don't you use that on me," he said, but he was grinning.

"Please?" I asked.

He paused. "You know, all the Greek gods and everything?"

I nodded.

"They're real."

"You're kidding," I said. But the look on his face was dead serious. "You're not kidding," I said warily. I thought about it. Coming from anyone else, I would have thought they were pulling my leg, but coming from Luke…

"Okay. I believe you," I said.

He looked surprised. "You do?"

I nodded. "I'm pretty sure you wouldn't lie to me, so, yeah, I believe you."

"Okay. But, uh, anyway, I am actually something called a demigod. I have one mortal parent and one… godly parent. My… my father is Hermes," Luke said. "And I think that your father is a god, too."

"What makes you think that?" I asked acidly. I don't like to think about my father very much.

"I did research. We both have all the signs. One parent, ADHD, dyslexia, put that all together and that usually equals demigod," Luke said. He went on to tell me everything he had managed to learn. I believed everything he said, because I believed that as long as Luke and I were together, I would always be safe and happy.

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**Well, that's chapter one!!!!!!!!!!! I'm going to need some reviews before I post chapter two, so PLEASE REVIEW!!!!!!!!! Reviews are love!!!!!!!!!!!!!**


	2. My father is Zeus and I leave my mother

**All right, here's chapter two!!!!!!!!!! I hope you like it!!!!!!!!!!! R&R!!!!!!!!!!!!**

**I don't own PJO.**

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It had been two weeks since Luke told me about the gods, and that _apparently, _I was a demigod. The moment he told me that, I had been fine, but now that I had been given time to think about it, I wasn't so happy. I mean, I knew that Luke and I were different from everyone else, but not _that _different! This fact led to a lot of arguments, much like the one we were in right now.

"Thalia, I really think we should go!" Luke exclaimed. We were in the middle of walking home.

"I don't want to," I said calmly. Well, not really calmly, it was more of a fake calm, like when I'm trying not to kick Luke's ass.

"Look, I know you don't want to, but it would be safer! We wouldn't have to worry about monsters attacking us every ten seconds!" Luke yelled. He's not very good with the whole fake calm thing.

"Have you ever been attacked by a monster?" I asked.

His face froze, and it took on a deer in the headlights look.

"I thought not. And I haven't either, so…" I let my voice trail off.

"That doesn't change any –" he started to say.

"Before you say it, yes it does change things. If we're not getting attacked, then why do we need safety? Why do we need to be safe from something if it never happens?" I challenged. Now my fake calm was starting to leave me, and my voice was getting hysterical.

"This wouldn't have to do with your resentments towards your father, would it?" Luke asked softly. Oh yeah, _now _he was calm.

"I don't have a father," I said acidly, through gritted teeth. I gave him my world famous stop-talking-or-I'll-kill-you glare.

Naturally, Luke didn't listen to that glare. "Yes, you do. You just don't want to believe that your father is alive and well, but never comes to see you, or your mother –"

"Shut up, Luke," I said angrily, and I shoved him.

But it was almost as if someone had sent a lightning bolt at him. He flew back, and his shirt was singed. He blinked rapidly.

"What the _hell _just happened?" I asked.

Luke stared at me. "I think I know who your father is. And if I'm right, then as soon as I tell you, a lot of monsters will start attacking us."

I paused. I sighed. "Who? Who is my father?"

"Zeus," he said.

"Zeus? Are you kidding me? The head god is apparently my father, and he controls the sky but he can't call his daughter at least once in her entire life? That is the dumbest thing I have ever –"

CRASH! I turned around. A big, hideous… thing jumped out at me.

"AAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!!!!!" I screamed.

Luke jumped up and tried to help, but the monster pushed him away. It lunged at me, and I shoved it away. The same thing that happened to Luke happened to the monster, only with a _lot _more power. The good news, Luke managed to take out a knife. The bad news, the monster looked really, _really _mad.

It lunged at me again, but this time, Luke swiped at him first. The monster turned into dust.

I turned to Luke. "What were you saying about this Camp Half-Blood?"

_(The next day)_

"Mom, I have to go," I explained. "I hate my life here, and besides, Camp Half-Blood is the only way I can be safe and not have monsters attacking me every ten minutes! I can't stay here anymore!"

"Thalia Grace, you will _not _walk out that door!" my mom yelled.

What I said next are words that I will forever regret. "Mom, you're a drunk! You're the worst person to ever be considered a mother! And you expect me to listen to every word you say? That's not going to happen! I've been taking care of myself for years now, mom! Maybe it's time that someone takes care of me!" I yelled.

She was speechless. I finished packing, and walked out the door. She started to walk towards me, but she slammed the door in my face.

Luke was waiting for me in the driveway. "Rough talk with your mom?" he asked sympathetically. I just nodded. He understood, and put his arm around my shoulders. "Don't worry. We'll get through this," he whispered.

"We'd better. Or else I'll just –"

"Just what, kick some monster ass?" Luke joked.

I gave him the most serious look I could muster. "Of course. What else?"

We managed to stay serious for about three seconds. Then we started cracking up. But I couldn't get my mother's face out of my mind. Was she really so hurt by my leaving? Or was she just acting so that she could have someone to do the laundry, clean the house, get the groceries, and all of the stuff she was supposed to be doing?

I looked at Luke. He also seemed to be deep in thought. He was thinking about what his last words to his mother were, no doubt.

There was a long silence until Luke finally said, "Come on, let's get going. We have a long walk ahead of us."

And so we walked. We would keep walking until we got to New York City. Thank the gods I am really good at exercising.

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**So???????? What do you guys think???????????? Did you like it? Did you hate it? Either way, let me know!!!!!!!!!!!!!**

**Reviews are love everybody!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!**


	3. On the Run

**Here's chapter three!!!!!! I'm sorry it took so long, but I was really busy. I hope you like it! And Luke and Thalia run into someone else in the series (not Grover or Annabeth)!**

**R&R!!!!!! I don't own PJO.**

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"Ugh!" I groaned. "Luke, how can a monster be so easy to kill, yet so hard to get rid of?"

"Thalia," Luke sighed, "We did get rid of the monster. Getting rid of a monster and getting monster goo off of your favorite Green Day button are two completely different things."

"Hey, it's monster goo. On my Green Day button. _Green Day. _Couldn't it have gotten the goo on, I don't know, a Barbie doll or something?" I complained.

"What do you have against Barbie dolls?" Luke asked.

"Why do you like Barbie dolls?" I retorted.

"I don't like Barbie dolls!" he protested.

"Luke likes Barbie dolls, Luke likes Barbie dolls," I taunted in a sing song voice.

The past four months have been like this. We were getting pretty close to New York… sort of. We still had a few months to go. Luke was turning fourteen next week, and I was wondering what to do while we were on the run. He had somehow managed to pull together a makeshift birthday party for my twelfth birthday a few months ago, and I wanted to return the favor. But how? I still have no idea how Luke did it.

I accidentally ran into a little boy that was about six, maybe seven. "Oh, I'm sorry," I said to him.

"S'okay. Do you wanna play with me?" he asked hopefully. His big sea green eyes were wide at Luke and me, and his black hair was so unruly I had an odd urge just to ruffle it up. Little kids seem to have that effect on me.

"Um…" I said. I looked at Luke.

"Sure we can, but only for a little bit, okay?" he said.

"Okay!" the boy yelled. "My name's Percy. What are your names?"

"I'm Thalia, and this is Luke," I said. "Where's your mom?"

He pointed across the street. I saw a playground over there, and a woman with long, brown hair and blue eyes looking around frantically.

"Oh, uh, maybe we should go back over there, Percy," Luke said.

He nodded. We started across the street, but Percy stopped at the curb.

"Come on," I said encouragingly.

"I'm not supposed to cross the street without holding mommy's hand," he said.

"Here," I offered, holding out my hand to him, "you can hold my hand instead."

He grabbed my hand and we walked across the street. As soon as we got to the playground, Luke whispered to me, "You play with him, while I tell his mom that he's safe."

I nodded. "Come on, Percy. You go up those slides and I'll catch you when you come down, okay?"

"Okay!" he yelled. He ran up the steps. I looked over at Luke, and he was talking to Percy's mom. She looked a lot calmer now, but the sight had touched something in my heart. She had been so frantic when she couldn't find her son. Was my mom so frantic about me? Did she even care? When she got drunk, and forgot that I had left, did she worry about where I was? Did she worry about where I was when she wasn't drunk? Did she even think about me? Had she stayed clean, hoping that it would somehow bring me back? Should I go back? Did I even want to go back? What did I want? Did I want my mother or my father? Which world did I belong in?

Did I want to belong in either world?

I immediately thrust the thought from my mind. There was no way in Hades that I was suicidal. Or was I? Did I even want to get to camp? Did I really want to be on the run?

_NO! _I yelled at myself. _You will NOT think like that! You do want to live, you do! What about Luke? Do you want to leave him here alone?_

I played with Percy for a little bit, but those thoughts never left my mind. What should I do? I felt an odd urge to call my mom, just to tell her I was okay, but what if she never answered? What if she had done something, an option I was only just now thinking about considering?

I shuddered at the thought. "What's wrong?" Percy asked. "Are you cold?"

I laughed once. "No, I'm not cold. How about you go talk to your mom and Luke? I need to call someone."

"Who?"

"Just… someone who is more important to me than I thought she was."

I walked over to the phone booth. The closer I got, the heavier my steps became. When I got inside, I reached for a quarter. It took one minute for me to actually take it out of my pocket. I was about to insert my quarter, when I heard someone rapping on the glass. I turned around to see Luke.

I put the quarter back in my pocket, and stepped out of the booth. "What is it, Luke?" I asked exasperatedly.

"We have to leave," he said. He sent a meaningful glance towards the playground. I looked, and saw a man there looking around. When he looked at us, I saw that he had one eye.

Luke and I left and never looked back. I never tried to call my mom for a long time after that…

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**Yeah, I put Percy in here. In Sea of Monsters, he had a dream that Thalia was in, but he hadn't seen her before, so how did he know it was her? This kind of explains that a little bit, I think. Also, no offense to anyone, but Percy is my favorite character. I just had to put him in here. And I also had to make sure that Thalia thought about her mom a little bit, because I think every kid on the run thinks about their parents every once in a while.**

**Anyway… I hoped you liked it!!!!!! Sorry for the long author's note!!!!!!!!!**

**Reviews are love!!!!!!!!!!!!!**


	4. We become a trio

**This chapter may look familiar to those of you who have read TLO. This is because this chapter is when Thalia and Luke meet Annabeth (cheering suddenly plays in the background). R&R!!!!!!!!**

**Sorry it took so long to update, I was having trouble with the Document Manager thing. :(**

**I don't own PJO.**

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It had been another month when we reached Richmond. We had fought monster after monster after another freaking monster. We were both starving. We probably looked like monsters now, being dirty and skinny, and we were probably glaring at everything that moved. We'd started created safe houses, but our last one had been destroyed. Suddenly, Luke stopped.

"Luke? What is it?" I asked.

"I sense something," he said. He looked around and pointed to an alleyway. "There."

I tapped my silver bracelet and it turned into my shield, Aegis. It was almost exactly like my father's only it didn't turn people into stone. Medusa's face was still pretty frightening, though. Luke pulled out his bronze knife.

We walked to the edge of the alleyway, but it seemed to be empty. If there were monsters, wouldn't they be attacking us by now?

"Are you sure?" I asked.

Luke nodded. "Something down here. I sense it."

A rumble suddenly came through the alleyway, and I tensed up. _Okay, maybe there is a monster, _I thought.

We moved forward very slowly. There were old crates in front of us. One sheet of metal started quivering. Something was behind it.

I looked at Luke. He counted to three, and ripped away the metal sheet. A saw a blur of blonde hair attack Luke. He grabbed her wrist, and her weapon of choice skittered on the ground – a hammer. The girl was about seven years old, wearing flannel pajamas. She had blonde hair (like I so obviously noted before) and surprisingly intelligent gray eyes. She struggle against him.

"No more monsters! Go away!" she shrieked. Monsters? The girl must be a half-blood.

"It's okay!" Luke yelled. He had a hard time holding her. "Thalia, put your shield up. You're scaring her."

I tapped my shield, and it became a bracelet again. "Hey, it's all right. We're not going to hurt you. I'm Thalia. This is Luke," I said.

"Monsters!" the little girl insisted.

"No," Luke said. "But we know all about monsters. We fight them, too."

The little girl stopped kicking and looked at us, with wide eyes. It was almost as if she was analyzing us, which scared me a little. Then I shook it off. I mean, what demigod is afraid of a seven-year-old girl?

"You're like me?" she asked.

"Yeah," Luke said. "We're… well, it's kind of hard to explain, but we're monster fighters. Where's your family?"

"My family hates me," she said. I would have thought that she would say it angrily, resentfully, but her tone sounded more matter-of-fact. "They don't want me. I ran away."

I looked at Luke the same time he looked at me. We both understood exactly what she was going through. But no one should go through this alone, especially not a little kid.

"What's your name, kiddo?" I asked.

"Annabeth."

Luke smiled at her gently. "That's a nice name. I tell you what, Annabeth – you're pretty fierce. We could use a fighter like you." He was subtly offering her to join our little group, if that's we were.

"You could?" Annabeth asked brightly.

"Oh, yeah," Luke said. He held out his knife to her, and I almost had a heart attack. I was starting to feel almost maternal towards Annabeth, and now Luke was handing her a knife? Plus, I've never really believed that seven-year-olds should wield sharp weapons. Starting about ten seconds ago.

"How'd you like a real monster fighting weapon? This is Celestial bronze. Works a lot better than a hammer," Luke said, almost sealing the deal that she would be joining us. Personally, I would have preferred that he had sealed the deal _without _giving a _seven-year-old _a freaking _knife_.

Annabeth grabbed the hilt of his knife, and I had yet another heart attack. "Knives are only for the quickest and bravest of fighters," Luke said. _Yeah, that's exactly why you gave it to a little kid, _I thought. "They don't have the reach or power of a sword, but they're easy to conceal and can find weak spots in you enemy's armor." _Yes, because a seven-year-old's instinct _isn't _to run and hide._

"It takes a pretty clever warrior to use a knife. I have a feeling you're pretty clever." _Yeah, she's pretty clever in comparison to _other _seven-year-olds, which still isn't very clever. Not clever enough to fight a freaking MONSTER with a KNIFE, which seven-year-olds shouldn't have ANYWAY!_

Annabeth, unlike me at the moment, was absolutely in love with Luke. She was looking up at him with adoring gray eyes. "I am!"

Okay, I have to admit, the whole lack of modesty thing was pretty funny. I had to smile when she said that. "We'd better get going, Annabeth," I said. "We have a safe house on the James River. We'll get you some clothes and food."

"You're… you're not going to take me back to my family? Promise?" she asked us. Her eyes were wide with sudden fear.

Luke said, "You're part of _our _family now. And I promise I won't let anything hurt you." No arguments here. "I'm _not _going to fail you like our families did us. Deal?"

"Deal!" Annabeth yelled. I was perfectly fine with this new arrangement. Except for the whole knife thing, of course.

"Now, come on. We can't stay put for long," I said. Annabeth suddenly looked sad, and I realized how detached I found. I leaned down and looked her in the eyes. "Maybe when we get to the safe house, Luke can get us some ice cream."

"Really?" she asked.

"Really," answered Luke.

She grinned for about a second. Then she got a serious look on her face. "Which way is the safe house?"

Luke and I kept straight faces for about half a second, then we started cracking up. "Well, you sure know how to get down to business, don't you?" I managed to ask.

She must have sensed that we weren't making fun of her, because she didn't get defensive like most people would. "Yeah. My mommy tells me that I get that trait from her."

"What else does your mommy tell you?" Luke asked.

"That she would send me some help," she answered promptly, and Luke and I froze. "I think she meant you two."

"Annabeth," Luke said, "who is your mommy?"

She didn't say anything. Rather, she pointed her finger up. We looked, and saw a gray owl perched on the ceiling of the building in front of us.

"Athena?" I whispered to Luke.

"Most definitely. It explains why she's so clever," he whispered back.

We looked back at Annabeth. "Well, we can thank your mommy later. First, let's get to the safe house. Then we can thank her over ice cream," I said.

"Yay!" she yelled. We walked in the direction of the safe house, creating a whole new meaning to one, big, happy family.

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**Well?????? What did you think???????? Please review! REVIEWS ARE LOVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!**


	5. We meet pushy, annoying people

**Here's the next chapter!!!!!!!! I hope everyone likes it!!!!!!!!!!! R&R!!!!!!!!!!!**

**I don't own PJO.**

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"Ow," Annabeth complained. "It hurts."

"That means the salve is working," Luke explained.

"How does pain mean that it's making the wound better?" she grumbled.

"It means the wound's getting clean and won't get infected," he said.

"I'd prefer less pain," she said.

"So you want your arm to turn green, then?" I cut in.

"It wouldn't turn green!" she protested. Then she looked unsure. "Right, Luke?"

"Actually, it would. Thalia got a wound that was infected once, and it turned green. I thought we were going to have to cut it off," he said.

Honestly, if it weren't for the infection, it was a pretty funny story. We'd finished fighting off a huge monster, and I got beaten by a rotten tree. A little kid's kite had gotten stuck, and I'd climbed up to get it for him. I'd fallen, and a branch cut my arm. I could fight a demon easy, but a tree had almost killed me. Ironic, huh?

"You would have had to cut it off?" Annabeth asked, alarmed.

"Oh, yeah," I said. "If the infection had spread too much, I would have had to get my arm cut off, or die. Luckily, we managed to get to a hospital in time."

"Think you can stand the salve now?" Luke asked, grinning.

She nodded vigorously. Luke rubbed the salve in, and she winced, but that was all. Suddenly, Luke froze.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Something's coming."

We were all very alert. Annabeth grabbed her knife, and I grabbed Aegis. We hid behind some crates and held our weapons up. We waited for about five minutes, then heard footsteps. They were walking quietly, trying not to attract attention. They must have sensed us here, too. I looked at Luke, who was holding on to Annabeth's hand. He looked at me and held up his hand, which was his signal to wait. Annabeth and I watched Luke, but listened to our enemies. I waited for what seemed like forever. I thought that the monsters would attack us before Luke gave us the signal. Finally, Luke nodded. Annabeth and I lunged out, her slicing, and me showing off my fierce shield.

It took about two minutes, but Annabeth and I realized that they didn't look like monsters. They were girls, all about my age, some older and some younger. They all had arrows notched at Annabeth, Luke, and I.

"Yield!" a voice yelled. Out stepped a girl with auburn hair and eyes the color of the moon. She was my age, from the look of it. "Who are you?"

"Who are _we? _Who in the Hades are you?" I demanded.

The girls, except for the one I assumed was the leader, all glared at me. "I am Artemis, Goddess of the Hunt," she said.

It was probably a bad idea, but I couldn't help it. It was just too ridiculous. I burst out laughing. "Yeah, sure you are. And I'm freaking Aphrodite."

"She's serious," another girl said. She had a silver circlet on her head. "This is Lady Artemis. And we are her huntresses."

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They set up a camp in about ten minutes. They were telling Annabeth and me all about the life of a huntress the entire time. I have to admit, it sounded pretty great, except… Luke. I would have to leave Luke, which meant a heck no.

The most persistent of the group was the girl with a silver circlet, Zoë Nightshade. She never shut up about how rewarding it is, why I should join, blah, blah, blah.

"So?" she asked.

"So…" I said.

"Will you join the Hunt?" she said, like it was obvious.

I paused. No responsibility, a family… but no Luke. "I don't think so."

"Why?" she asked, incredulous.

I didn't answer. I just looked over at Luke, who was showing Annabeth how to set up a tent.

Zoë grew angry. "He will betray you, you know," she said venomously.

"No, he won't," I said icily. "Luke would never hurt me."

"The fact that you believe that shows your ignorance!" she yelled. "He will hurt you, I can promise that! All men do eventually."

I didn't yell. Usually I would, but this time I didn't. I just gave her an icy stare, and said menacingly, "And that belief is why your guy probably hurt you. You give up too easily." I had just been guessing that it had been the right button to push. Judging from the mortified look on her face, I had been right.

She ran away from me, and I had to give her some credit. If our roles were reversed, I would have slapped her, and possibly killed her. She had a lot more self control than I did, that was for sure. But I would never give up Luke. And that was where I had her beat.

I looked over at Luke and Annabeth. She was all tangled up, and he was laughing as he tried to get her out. I decided that I had made the right choice. I may have a lot of responsibility, but that responsibility is what helped me meet Annabeth. I wouldn't give her up for the world. And although the Huntresses were one, big, happy family, I had a pretty great family right here. I belonged with them, and I could never give that up.

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**Well??????? What did everyone think??????????? Please review!!!!!!!!!!! REVIEWS ARE LOVE!!!!!!!!!!!!**


	6. We meet Mother Insane

**Here's the next chapter!!!!!!!!!! I hope you like it!!!!!!!!!!!!! R&R!!!!!!!!!!!!!**

**I don't own PJO.**

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We were fighting yet another pack of monsters in Connecticut when it happened. I was fighting awesomely, and I started to retreat when Luke said to run. But out of nowhere, I heard Annabeth scream. I turned to look. While Annabeth was trying to retreat, a monster appeared in her way. She was surrounded. Luke dived in to get her, but the monsters were holding him back. She fought hard, but she wouldn't last long. I, on the other hand, had a clear shot. I sprinted towards her. At the sight of Aegis, the monsters started to cower away, and Annabeth was getting an upper hand. I almost attacked the biggest one, but something attacked me from behind. It slashed at my leg, and made me topple forward. My neck was right in front of one of the monsters, and it looked at it like it had won the lottery. It almost killed me, but Annabeth got to him. I shoved Aegis at the monsters, and they ran away.

Luke ran up and looked at my leg. Annabeth put my head on her lap. He touched the wound, and I howled in pain.

"We have to get you somewhere. We don't have the supplies to fix this," Luke said. Annabeth whimpered at his words. They looked at me in worry.

"I'll be fine," I said. I couldn't let them worry about me, not when we had monsters to worry about all the time. But my leg would slow us down… unless I was left behind.

The thought killed me. I didn't want to be without Luke, or Annabeth, for that matter. But I couldn't let myself get them killed. I voiced some of my thoughts. "I could just go somewhere and get better, while you guys go ahead and find a place to stay. You could send someone after me later. It would be easier. No leg to slow us down in a fight."

"No, we're not leaving you," Luke said immediately.

"Luke's right," Annabeth said. "If we leave you, we'll get weaker, not stronger, even if your leg slows us down. If it weren't for you just know, I would have been killed. Besides, we're a family now. Family doesn't leave family behind."

I looked at them, trying to think of a way to argue, but their faces showed they were adamant. They weren't going to leave me behind.

"Okay, so where do we go to help my leg? We can't go to a hospital. They'll want to know where our parents are. We'd all be sent back to our families, and none of us want that," I said.

"I know where to go," Luke said. "My mother's house. She lives in this city."

"She does? I thought we lived in the same place," I demanded.

"We did. She didn't. I lived by myself, waiting for someone who I could trust. Then you came along," he said.

So, we were off to his mother's house. I just hoped that wasn't a mistake.

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"Just a little farther!" Luke yelled. _Yeah, you said that two freaking hours ago, _I thought bitterly. Annabeth stumbled ahead of me, and Luke grabbed her hand. I on the other hand was limping on my leg, but naturally, he helps the little girl who _isn't _injured. Yeah, that's just common sense.

Finally, we came upon a white Colonial.

"All right," Luke said. "I'll just sneak in and grab some food and medicine. Wait here."

I was suddenly worried. Luke had told me stories about his mom. Should he really go back there? "Luke, are you sure?" I asked. "You swore you'd never come back here. If she catches you –"

"We don't have a choice!" he snarled. I felt Annabeth tremble in front of me, never having heard Luke talk like this. "They burned our nearest safe house. And you've got to treat that leg wound." _Oh, you mean the one that you've been making me walk on?_

"This is your house?" Annabeth asked.

"It _was _my house," he corrected. "Believe me, if it wasn't an emergency –"

"Is you mom really horrible?" she asked, in the way only a seven year old can ask. "Can we see her?"

"No!" he snapped.

She shrank back into me, and started trembling again. "I… I'm sorry," he said softly, not wanting to hurt her. "Just wait here. I promise everything will be okay. Nothing's going to hurt you. I'll be back –"

Suddenly, there was a gold flash. Now _all _of us were trembling. A voice boomed, "You should not have come home."

I didn't recognize him. I just knew that he was a god, thanks to the whole gold flash thing. The only immortal I had seen was Athena, and that was in her owl form. Well, and the monsters. Luke, on the other hand, recognized him right away.

"Father," he said coldly. Hermes? It was Hermes? Uh-oh, this was going to be a tense family reunion.

"Why are you here?" Hermes demanded.

"We need food and medicine. Our safe house was destroyed, and Thalia's leg isn't doing very well," he said curtly, trying to keep this meeting as short as possible.

Hermes only just then seemed to notice Annabeth and me. He looked at my leg, and concern was etched in his face… for a second. "Yes, Zeus's daughter. Heard you two were traveling together," he muttered. He sighed. "Oh, all right. You're already here."

We walked towards the house. It was a very silent, and short, trip. When we got there, we all stood on the porch, afraid to knock the door. Then, I got the courage to knock on the door. A lady opened the door. She had white hair sticking out everywhere, and burn marks. From the smell of the house, it must have been from trying to cook. She didn't even notice Annabeth and me.

"Luke!" she exclaimed. "My boy! I knew you would come back!" She turned to Hermes. "Oh, and Hermes! You came too!" Next, she looked at me and Annabeth. "Oh, who are your friends?"

"This is Thalia, and this is Annabeth," he muttered.

She smiled warmly at us. "Oh, it's so nice to meet Luke's friends, so nice. Come in, come in, all of you!"

When we walked in, Luke turned to the messenger god. "I need to talk to you… Father," he said. "Mom, can you bandage Thalia's leg?"

"Oh, yes, of course dear," his mom replied immediately.

Luke and Hermes went into the living room, and Annabeth, Ms. Castellan, and I went into the kitchen. I sat at the table, and she began to bandage my leg. Annabeth picked up a Medusa bean bag and started playing with it. Ms. Castellan started telling baby stories about Luke, but I tuned her out. It didn't really interest me what he was like then, just if he was okay now. I couldn't hear what Luke and Hermes were talking about outside either. I just watched Annabeth, and whispered to her every once in a while.

Suddenly, while we were eating cookies and my evil leg was supposedly getting better, a green mist flowed out of her. Her voice got raspy, and she said, _"My boy, my son. Danger, terrible danger!" _Annabeth and I looked at her, trying to figure out what in the Hades just happened.

"Um, what did you just say?" I asked.

"Hm? Oh, I was talking about Luke's first grade picture! Such an adorable boy, so adorable. Is he almost ready for school? I have his lunch ready!" she said brightly.

The fact that Luke lived with this woman made me realize exactly why he had run away. No one could live with someone like this. She made living with my mom look like chocolate cake.

Suddenly, out of the living room, I heard Luke yell, "Then you don't care!" We all stopped talking. Luke's mom got a worried look on her face.

"Luke?" she called out. "Is that you? Is my boy all right?"

We didn't get an answer. We didn't even hear anything right away. We calmly listened until Luke said, "Thalia, Annabeth, come on! We're leaving!"

Annabeth and I scrambled up and ran to catch up with him. "My boy, don't go! I have your lunch ready!" Ms. Castellan called out.

We ran out the door as fast as I could. While we left, I felt tears spring to my eyes, as I thought about a woman who was waiting for her nine year old son to return home, so she could give him cookies, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and Kool-Aid, not realizing that she was the Mother Insane.

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	7. Santa isn't real, but satyrs are!

**Here's chapter seven!!!!!!!!! We meet more people in this chapter. I hope you like it!!!!!!!! R&R!!!!!**

**I don't own PJO.**

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It was cold. It was really, really, _really _cold. I have no idea why, since it was March. It wasn't even snowing. But it was still really cold.

We weren't walking around today. It was too cold. We hadn't gotten warmer clothes, because we thought winter would have been _over _by now. Did I mention that it's cold outside?

"It reminds me of Christmas!" Annabeth yelled suddenly.

"What does, Annabeth?" Luke asked.

"The cold. It was really cold last Christmas, but it didn't snow. Just like now!" she yelled. "Santa got me a bunch of really good books!"

Personally, I didn't see how books could be exciting, but this _was _a daughter of Athena. "That's great, Annabeth," I said.

"Will Santa be able to find me next Christmas?" she asked.

It was a harmless question. It was one every little kid had the right to ask their parents. But we weren't her parents, we were more like her brother and sister. And we didn't have an answer. What do you tell a little girl who thinks she knows everything that Santa isn't real? Do you tell her? _I _certainly didn't want to. No one wants to deal with the fall out of a crushed seven year old girl. But what was the right thing to do? To tell or not to tell? Oh, crap, now there's an even worse problem: I'm going Shakespeare! Will the agony never end?

"Well?" she asked.

"I don't really know, Annabeth," I said. Then I got an idea. "Why don't you ask Luke? I'm sure he knows."

He gave me a panicked look. He must be going through the same do-I-tell-her-or-not speech inside his own head, only without the dumbass Shakespeare. I mean, I don't mean offense to anyone who likes Shakespeare, but weird guys walking around in tights reciting poetry is just not my thing.

"Luke? Will he be able to find me?" she asked innocently.

"Uh…" he said. I bit back a laugh. "Annabeth? Why don't we, uh, walk and talk."

"Okay!" she said.

I bit another laugh. His was so miserable that it was funny. Yet, despite being a daughter Athena, she didn't notice it on his face, and was grinning like nothing was wrong. Talk about ignorance is bliss.

They left, but Luke gave me one last glare before they walked away. I just smirked and started laughing.

"So much for being Annabeth's favorite," I muttered.

They were gone for about two minutes when I started trying to make something to eat. Then, there was a loud crash behind me.

"AAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!" I screamed.

Annabeth and Luke came running back in. Annabeth had her knife drawn, but she had some tears on her face. I'm guessing Luke told her Santa wasn't real.

I got out Aegis and kicked whoever was on the floor. I couldn't really see them very well, but they said, "Ow! Relax! I'm here to help you get to safety!"

I looked at Luke. He nodded, and I tapped Aegis. It turned back into my silver bracelet. Annabeth started to put away her knife, but Luke grabbed her wrist. "Hold on to it," he ordered softly, "just in case."

She nodded and kept the knife in her hand.

"Who are you?" I demanded. "What do you want? Who sent you?"

"My name is Grover Underwood. I'm a satyr," he said. He stood up, and I saw that he had furry legs that ended in hooves. Annabeth's eyes went wide. Luke looked like he wanted to say a joke but was afraid two. I must have looked somewhere in between the two.

"A satyr?" I asked.

"A magical being that really likes nature," Luke said.

Grover snorted. "Anyway, I came to help you. To bring you to Camp Half-Blood, where you'll be safe."

"Camp Half-Blood?" Luke asked.

I turned to him. "Isn't that where we were planning to go? You know, before we got side-tracked with everything?" He nodded.

"I was sent by Chiron. He's a centaur who trains half bloods. One of the gods must have told him who you were and wanted to rescue you," he explained.

"You came to help all of us?" Annabeth asked.

Grover suddenly looked uncomfortable. "Actually… I'm only here to save Thalia. I don't know if I'm allowed to save you two."

"Whoa, wait a second. I'm not going without Luke and Annabeth. If you don't take them with you, you don't take me with you. End of story," I said.

"They might take away my license! They could kill me, or make me an outcast, or something even more horrible!" he said. Grover seemed like someone who was easy to scare. He started eating one of our empty soda cans.

"Well…" Luke said.

"What?" Grover and I asked at the same time.

"If there was a way for you to save all three of us and not get in trouble, would you be willing to try?" Luke asked Grover.

"Yes, of course!" he replied. He may be scared, but he's definitely a nice guy.

"Okay, well, just explain to whoever that Thalia wouldn't leave without us, so if you didn't take us, you wouldn't be able to take Thalia either," Luke suggested.

Grover thought about it for a second. "All right. That might work." He must have still been nervous, because he was still eating the soda can.

"Okay, so the four of us go to New York, get to Camp Half-Blood, and learn how to protect ourselves from monsters," I said. "Easy."

"It would be _easier _if _Santa Claus _were here to help us," Annabeth said angrily. "Oh wait, he isn't real!"

She glared at Luke. "I'm going to have to deal with this the entire time, aren't I?" he asked.

"Yep," Annabeth and I said in unison. Luke groaned.

And that is how we went from a family of three, to a family of three plus a friend (who had potential to become part of the family). That's also how I came to be Annabeth's new favorite person.

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**Well???????? What did you think?????? I just had to throw in the Santa thing, because I wanted something other than meeting Grover to be in this chapter.**

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	8. Not in Kansas anymore

**Here's chapter eight!!!!!!!! I hope you all like it!!!!!!!!!!!!! R&R!!!!!!!!!!!!!!**

**I don't own PJO.**

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It took a while getting used to Grover. He didn't fit with us. We were used to a life of running, while he was used to trees, wood nymphs, and a place to call home. But eventually, we all came to like him, some of us sooner than others. I was the first, then Luke soon followed. It was Annabeth that took so long. I didn't really understand why, which is why I asked Luke one night, when Annabeth and Grover were sleeping.

"Luke?" I asked. "Why doesn't Annabeth like Grover?"

"You don't know?" Luke asked. I shook my head. "Because we're her family."

"So?" I asked.

"So, in her mind, we're kind of like her mommy and daddy. She's used to having all of our attention, and all of our affection," he explained.

"What does that have to do with Grover?" I asked.

"I wasn't finished," he whined.

"You sound like such a baby," I retorted.

He sneered at me. "Anyway, Grover is like the new baby in the family. He's the baby boy, and she's the older sister. She's jealous that she has to share the attention."

After that conversation, I made sure to spend plenty of time with Annabeth. Soon after, she started to warm up to Grover more. According to Luke, it was because she realized that we loved her just the same (metaphorically, of course). Personally, I think it's because he paid for her favorite ice cream.

Right now, of course, Grover wasn't being very impressive. It was even obvious to Annabeth, who's horrible with direction, that we had taken a really wrong turn somewhere.

"Grover, maybe we should go back," I said, for what must have been the twentieth time (and I only wish that I was exaggerating).

"No, I'm sure that this is the right way! If it's not, then there must be something else here! I can sense it!" Grover insisted.

"Really? Because all I can sense is that we are most definitely not in Kansas anymore, Toto," Luke said.

I smirked. Annabeth burst out laughing. Grover, on the other hand, looked at Luke blankly, not getting the joke.

"What's the matter, Grover? You haven't seen The Wizard of Oz?" I asked.

He shook his head. "Should I have?"

"Just watch it. You won't regret it, trust me," Luke said.

"You know, as long as you don't mind witches, flying monkeys, a talking tin man, a talking scarecrow, a talking lion, or munchkins," I agreed.

"So you'll basically hate it," Annabeth finished.

"Whoa," Luke said.

"What?" Grover asked.

We all looked in the direction that Luke was staring. There was a beautiful island. It had really green grass, with really green trees, and there was definitely no civilization. Otherwise, there would most likely have been pollution. It looked like one of those islands everyone wants to go to for their getaways, and their vacations. Well, if you like islands, anyway.

"I'm pretty sure that this isn't Camp Half-Blood. If it were, then a lot more half-bloods would come here on their own," I said.

"It's not," Grover said. "But, I just, I feel like I need to go through here."

"All right, fine. But we each split up, and meet here in fifteen minutes, okay?" Luke said.

We all agreed. I started to walk around aimlessly, just looking for a reason to leave. I had a bad feeling about this place, and I had seen that Luke did too.

Suddenly, I heard his voice. "Help! HELP!" Luke's voice yelled. I ran.

"Luke?" I called out. "Luke?" Oh gods, if I lost Luke…

I came to a big cave. I saw Luke and Grover there… tied up. Then, I saw a giant monster with one eye standing in the middle. A Cyclops. Oh, Styx, this was really not good.

He grabbed me, and tied me up. I ended up next to Luke, and Grover was on his other side. We waited for about five minutes, then Annabeth came running in. The Cyclops was talking to her, but I couldn't hear anything. I saw tears in her eyes, I wanted so badly to break through these ropes and comfort her. She was seven years old! She didn't deserve this. That was why I wanted to go to Camp Half-Blood, for Annabeth.

Then, she did something amazing. She stabbed his foot. The Cyclops howled in pain. Annabeth ran at us, then cut Luke free. Luke got Grover and me free, and we ran. We didn't even bother with the Cyclops. We just wanted to get out of there. That was the closest encounter we had ever had with death, and we had only gotten free because of a seven year old. Not something that we wanted to dwell on for very long.

She kept crying. I held her against me, held her tight. Luke was right. We were like Annabeth's parents. I definitely acted like I was her mother. Maybe if she were older, if we were closer in age, then we could be sisters, like I had originally hoped. For now, I would have to live with being a really, _really _young mother.

"Annabeth? Are you okay?" I asked her softly. Luke and Grover couldn't hear me. Annabeth shook her head. "Do you want to talk about it?" She shook her head again. "Okay. It's okay. It's okay, Annabeth," whispered.

I thought back to when I was Annabeth's age, and grieved for her lost childhood.

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**I wanted to have some glimpse of the relationship between Thalia and Annabeth, so that's where this chapter came from. I hope you all like it!!!!!!! Please review!!!!!!!!!**

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	9. I start a really, really long nap

**Here's the next chapter!!!!!!!!!! Please read and review everybody!!!!!!!!!!! Hmmm… I think this is my shortest chapter for this story…**

**I don't own PJO.**

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"We have to hurry!" Grover said.

"Gee, really? I had no idea! Why would I ever have thought to hurry up? You know, just because a whole fu –"

Luke coughed and gestured at Annabeth. Oh, right. Seven year olds just shouldn't hear certain words. "_Freaking _herd of monsters are on our tail, doesn't mean we need to hurry up. How about we just take a nap, instead?"

"You're being sarcastic, right?" Annabeth asked innocently.

"Of course I'm –" I started to yell. Then my maternal instincts kicked in. "Yes, I'm being sarcastic," I said calmly. "Now, you stick with Luke, okay? He doesn't have a weapon, so you need to protect him."

Annabeth nodded. Then I whispered to Luke (so she wouldn't hear, of course), "If one hair on her head is touched, I will make you sorry that you're a man."

I glared at him, and he gulped. "Will do."

"And you be careful, too," I said. "I don't want anything to happen to you."

"Ditto."

I looked him in the eyes, and I had an odd urge to kiss him. But I didn't. I couldn't. Not yet, anyway. "Grover, you stick with me," I said. "Unless Annabeth and Luke need you. Then you will go straight to them, okay?"

He nodded. I pulled out Aegis and my spear, and faced a bunch of monsters. I fought, and fought, and fought, and fought. It was hard, but I was managing. Grover, on the other hand, was having a panic attack. He fainted about five minutes after the fighting began.

"Annabeth! Luke!" I yelled. "Get Grover!"

They grabbed him and pulled him to the border, while I fought for my life. Within about half an hour, they started running back for me. By then, I was tired to the bone.

"Thalia?" I heard someone call out. Luke. He was looking for me. All he saw were the monsters. Then, he saw me. "Thalia!" He let go of Annabeth's hand. _What? What happened to nothing touches her?! _I outraged in my head. "Thalia!"

"Luke!" I yelled. "No, you have to go back! Protect Annabeth! Go!"

He looked in between the two of us. He was trying to choose between Annabeth and me. I saw Annabeth's lips move, but I couldn't hear what she was saying.

He looked me in the eyes again. He wanted to save me, but I couldn't let him. I couldn't let either of them get hurt. "Save her!" I screamed.

Then… I almost had a heart attack. A monster was running at Annabeth. He would kill her!

"Annabeth!" I shrieked. Luke looked back at her. Annabeth screamed and slashed at the monster with her knife. The monster backed up, but it was unharmed. I had to save her! But I couldn't, not with all these monsters around me! I looked back, and saw Luke kill it with a sword that I didn't even know that he had.

He started running towards me again. "Thalia!" he yelled. I looked behind me, and saw a monster coming at me. It was big, mean, and ugly (with emphasis on the ugly). I was about to fight it off, when I realized I had dropped my shield and my spear when I saw Annabeth was almost attacked. The monster lunged at me. I felt a stab in my chest, and I fell to the ground. I tried to stand, but I couldn't. I wasn't going to make it.

"Thalia!" I heard vaguely. He would be safe, and he would keep Annabeth safe, I was sure of that. But he wouldn't get over this. It wasn't like him too. Annabeth wouldn't get over me either, but it would be easier for her. She didn't know me quite as well as Luke did. It might even be hard on Grover, but that was mostly because he was such a kind soul.

"Dad," I whispered. Why was I praying to him? What did I want him to do? Didn't I just make some closure speech inside my head? What was it that I wanted? Then it hit me: I couldn't die. I couldn't leave them behind. I needed to _live. _"Dad," I repeated. "Help."

I saw a flash of lightning. It came down upon me, but I didn't feel pain. In fact, I didn't feel much of anything at all.

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**Well?????? What did you think?????? I used a similar thing as I did for my one-shot, The Girl who Became a Tree. I hope everyone liked it!!!!!!!!! **

**Oh, and no one reviewed chapter eight, which kind of scared me a little bit. Authors need reviews so that they know if they're doing good or horrible, doesn't really matter. No reviews = no readers in author's mind. So, please, review!!!!!!! This is the only chapter I will ever post without reviews, so now I need a total of at least… 35 reviews!!!!!!!!!!!**

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	10. Promises Not Kept

**Here's the next chapter!!!!!!!! Thanks for the reviews everyone, I appreciate it!!!!!!! R&R!!!!!!!!!**

**I don't own PJO.**

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Everything sped up. I saw everything that was going on, but I couldn't say anything, or move, or affect anyone else around me. But I could feel everything they were doing to me. I could hear bits of what everyone was saying, but they were going too fast. I kept thinking that I might be dead, but that wouldn't explain why time had sped up.

Grover, Annabeth, and Luke visited me. At first it was all three of them, and then it was just Luke and Annabeth who came together, always together. She followed him everywhere, and he was her idol. I knew that, and respected it. There was no one better to look up to than Luke. Eventually, however, Luke and Annabeth came separately. They never came together anymore.

I had started counting the days a long time ago. It was all wrong though, all wrong. When it was just one year, Annabeth had gone from seven to looking around ten. It didn't make any sense. Luke had gone from fourteen to a really hot young man, all in just one year. How was everyone growing so fast?

Whenever Luke came to visit, he tended to mutter a lot, so I never heard him. For the last year, Luke had been so bitter. I never understood why he was so miserable. For the last few months, however, he hadn't come to visit me at all. Was he over me? Did he still care? What had I done wrong? Then again, I hadn't done anything. If I had, would he still visit me?

Annabeth, however, was a different story. She always visited me. Her mood changes were normal for someone her age. Or at least, the age she looked like she was. How had she gotten so old so fast? Why was she growing so fast? She was practically an adolescent now, when she should have been eight or nine. What was happening?

I always understood what Annabeth said. She was always so close to me, that if I could just reach down, I could envelop her in my arms, just like the way it used to be. Luke had always been a few feet away. She wanted a quest. At first, I didn't understand why she wanted to leave so bad. It was great here; she was safe. Eventually, I started to get it. She wanted to prove herself. She wanted to prove that she could do anything she felt like doing. Her fatal flaw was definitely hubris.

Then she started talking about a prophecy. She called it 'The Great Prophecy' or something like that. A child of the Big Three would either help or destroy Olympus against some great enemy on their sixteenth birthday. Thank the gods I was only fourteen right now. Anyway, Annabeth mentioned that she was destined to go on a quest with the kid. She wanted to go so badly…

At first, she spoke a lot about Luke. Then one day, she started to talk about him and someone else: Percy. He was her age, and a son of Poseidon. She often called him 'Seaweed Brain' and 'Kelp Head'. Then, she abruptly stopped talking about Luke. It was just Percy now. Then she said she was going home with her family, and I almost had a heart attack. She didn't come to visit for a long time after that.

Then, someone came to my tree. I couldn't see who it was, and they were talking too softly for me to hear them. I could see they were crying, though, like they didn't like what they were about to do. Then, I felt sick. Monsters started running past me, something they hadn't done at all ever since that fateful day a year ago. _NO! _I thought to myself. _I can't let Luke or Annabeth get hurt! _If monsters got past me, they would get to them, I could feel it.

Then, I got one monster to say back. I felt some satisfaction. I could save them from one monster. "I, Annabeth Chase, Daughter of Athena give Tyson permission to enter the camp!" I heard someone yell. Annabeth needed the monster's help. Annabeth needed me to let the monster go. Annabeth needed me…

My thoughts were fading, and I let the Cyclops go. I was too sick, too weak…

Why wasn't Luke helping me? He had promised to keep me safe, I remembered that. Oh, that day that seemed like forever ago…

_(Flashback)_

"_Thalia?" Luke called out. "Are you okay?"_

_I nodded. "Are you sure, Luke? That we should run, I mean? What if something happens? What would happen to my mom if someone found me dead?" I hadn't necessarily meant my mom, but someone had to care about me… right?_

_Luke hugged me, and my heart sped faster. "Nothing will happen to you. I'll make sure nothing happens to you, I promise."_

_I buried my face into his chest and nodded. "Okay."_

_(End flashback)_

I wanted to yell. I wanted to scream. Why wasn't anyone helping me? What had happened to me? Why wasn't Luke keeping his promise? Why did Annabeth look so in pain last time I saw her? What was wrong? Didn't anyone care? Didn't anyone keep their promises anymore? What was happening? Why was I so confused? Why was everyone growing so fast? Why did I feel so helpless? What is wrong with me?

I was desperate, desperate for some sort of help. I needed help. I needed someone to help Annabeth, and someone to help Luke. I needed an explanation, but no one was telling me anything! Why was I so sick? Why was I so weak? I need to protect them! I have to keep my promises, because no one else will. No one else will…

I'm so weak… So weak…

Then I felt stronger. I heard rejoicing. I could think clearer. I saw Annabeth and a boy with long black hair running towards me, smiling. Someone had helped me. But who? Who had helped me?

It didn't matter, I decided. They had helped me, and now I could help Annabeth and Luke.

Suddenly, I felt like I was exploding. I felt the ground on my back. I started coughing. Wait, coughing? I hadn't coughed in two years, not even during flu season!

I saw someone leaning over me. They were in armor, and they had oddly familiar gray eyes.

"Annabeth!" I heard someone yell. Shock coursed through me. Annabeth was standing over me. Suddenly, my head was resting on someone's shoulder. It was the boy Annabeth had been running with earlier. He had sea-green eyes that were intense with their concern.

"It's okay, your safe now," he said. Was I dreaming? Had I finally fallen asleep after two years?

"Strange dream," I murmured, because this was a strange thing to dream about.

"Who are you?" he asked.

That startled me. In my dreamland, they would have known who I was. This wasn't a dream. This was real. "I'm Thalia," I said. "Daughter of Zeus."

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**I decided to make two years pass (in Thalia's mind), because no one suddenly jumps from one age to another, unless they actually grow two years.**

**Well, let me know what you think!!!!!!!!! REVIEWS ARE LOVE!!!!!!!!!!!!**


	11. I learn the truth and it hurts

**Here's chapter eleven!!!!!!!!!!! I hope you like it!!!!!!!!! R&R!!!!!!!!!**

**I don't own PJO.**

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They carried me to a house, which they called the Big House. "Very original," I muttered sarcastically.

"Still the same old Thalia," Annabeth murmured. Or was it Annabeth? She was too old to be the Annabeth that I knew, but if what I remembered was true…

"Annabeth?" I asked, just to make sure.

She looked pleased. "You remember me?" she asked excitedly.

"Of course I do! How could I forget you? But… you look… older than you should," I muttered.

"Hear that, Annabeth? You look old," the boy with sea-green eyes teased.

"Ha, ha," she said, but she was smiling. "I'm thirteen, Thalia, I'm pretty sure that's what I look like."

"_Thirteen?!" _I exclaimed. "But… but that would mean… that it's… it's been six years!"

"It has been," Grover said.

"But, I'm not… I'm not eighteen! I'm fifteen! It's only been three years!" I protested. They all looked at me grimly. "Hasn't it?" I asked.

"Thalia," Chiron said, "you were growing as a tree should. So, for you, it was three years. For us, it has been six."

Oh, great. So I wake up, and I've lost three years of my life. Perfect. Annabeth's not my little girl anymore, she's almost my age. And Luke is twenty now, while I'm just fifteen. He's an adult now, and I'm still a teenager? How is that fair? Speaking of Luke…

"Where's Luke?" I asked.

Everyone looked even more dismal, if that were possible. "Let's… let's talk about that later, Thalia," Annabeth said. I was about to protest, but based on her tone, Annabeth couldn't handle talking about it.

"Who are you?" I asked the boy. I wanted to know who was hanging out with Annabeth.

"Percy Jackson. I'm Poseidon's son," he said. Another child of the Big Three… this ought to be interesting.

"Percy, Grover, why don't you two come with me and let Thalia and Annabeth catch up?" Chiron said. Grover and Percy left.

"So? What'd I miss?" I asked.

She started telling me everything that had happened in the past three… six years. Luke had gone on a quest to steal apples from the Garden of Hesperides, and he had failed. He had a scar to prove it. He'd gotten very bitter after that. Nothing much had happened after that, except for a bunch of Capture the Flag games.

Then, someone had taken my father's master bolt. He had immediately blamed Poseidon. Then when Percy came along, and had been claimed, the first quest ever since Luke's failure finally happened. Percy, Annabeth, and Grover all went on a quest to find out who really stole the master bolt.

"So? Who did it?" I asked.

She looked sad. "I think I'll wait to tell you that."

She proceeded to tell me that Percy had convinced her to try living with her family again ("What? Someone can actually convince you to do that? He's smarter than you give him credit for," I had said) and that it had been a wild school year. Then she had started getting dreams that the camp was in trouble, so she went to go find Percy. They got to the camp to find that monsters were getting in because someone had poisoned me – er, my tree.

"Who?" I asked.

"Same person who stole the master bolt," she said curtly. She _really _didn't want to talk about him. A daughter of Ares named Clarisse had gotten the quest to save me, but Percy, Annabeth, and Tyson (Percy's Cyclops brother, apparently) had snuck out of camp to save Grover. They ended up going to the same place, and got the Golden Fleece, which saved me from being poisoned.

"So, a daughter of Ares saved me? That's new," I said sincerely. "But what happened to Luke? Where is he? Why isn't he in any of these stories?"

"Thalia…" she said. She sighed. "It was him. He stole the master bolt. He poisoned your tree. He betrayed us."

I didn't say anything. I _couldn't. _Luke betrayed me? _Luke _betrayed me? My Luke? The Luke who had taken care of me, and defended me from some nasty girls at school? Luke who had always put me before him?

How could he do this to me?! Why? What had I done? Was it that I turned into a tree? Did that put him over the edge? Could I have done something different? What happened?

Wait, but him against the camp? All alone? How is he even alive right now?

I felt like I was going to throw up. Something else was wrong. I was missing something. Luke wouldn't do this without good reason. He _wouldn't _betray me. He _wouldn't. _There's no way.

"Why?" I managed to choke out.

"He blames the gods. Says they don't care enough. He especially blames them for you not being… you know," she said.

"He's alone?" I said. My voice was hoarse. My throat was dry. He'd poisoned me. He'd tried to kill me. I should hate him. But all I could think about was how much I longed to see his smile, the way it used to be. Back before we were on the run. When we were just two best friends in school. He'd been so happy then…

"No, he's not. Several half-bloods have joined him… and monsters. The leader is Kronos," Annabeth whispered.

All I could feel was relief. Luke wasn't alone. He was people who would keep in safe. Then I felt anger. How could he do this to me?! To us? Didn't he care? Didn't he realize what this was doing to everyone? To me? Why?

My heart was in pain. I wanted to die. No one should have to deal with this. I wanted to fall over and die, right then. I didn't care about anyone else. Luke had betrayed me. Nothing and no one else mattered.

Then I looked at Annabeth. My heart ached again. She may be thirteen now, but all I saw was the seven year old girl who had gotten a crying fit when I had almost needed my leg amputated. No, I would have to stay. I wasn't Luke. I kept my promises.

"Can you show me to my cabin?" I asked, my voice still hoarse. "I… I need to be alone right now."

She nodded. She helped me up and showed me to my cabin. It was huge, but I barely noticed. I plopped down on the nearest bed and cried for the boy… for the _man _that had stolen and broken my heart.

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**Well?????? What did you think???????? Was it good???????? Did it have enough Thuke in it??????? PLEASE REVIEW!!!!!!!!!**


	12. I learn more hurtful truths

**Hey everyone!!!!!!!!!!! Sorry it took so long to update, but I broke my wrist and I had to get surgery, and I haven't been allowed to do anything except sleep and take pain medication!!!!!!!!!!! Anyway… R&R!!!!!!!!**

**I don't own PJO.**

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I couldn't stop crying. I could barely process what was going on. It was just so hard to believe that Luke could have betrayed me. Why? Why couldn't we have just been happy together? What did the Fates have against us? I tossed and turned on my bed. Either this bed was really lumpy, or I needed to talk to someone. But who?

_Luke, _was my first thought. But, of course I couldn't. He was a traitor now, not to mention the very basis of my freaking issues. I would have to settle for the second best – Annabeth.

I walked out of the cabin. Everyone who was outside immediately started staring at me. Unfortunately, Annabeth wasn't among them, and I had absolutely no idea where the Athena cabin was.

Someone started walking towards me. It took a minute, but I recognized him as Percy. Poseidon's son. "Hey, Thalia," he said. "How are you holding up?"

"Not good," I admitted.

He nodded. "Yeah, I figured that Annabeth told you about…"

"Luke?"

"Yeah." His forehead wrinkled. He didn't seem very approving of him. "I know how close the three of you were. Everyone staring at you all the time probably doesn't help much."

"Yeah, not really. I take it you went through the same thing?"

He shrugged. "Kind of. It wasn't as bad. Your dad is, like, the head god, so you've got more attention. Plus, you're older, so the prophecy's more likely to apply to you."

I started. "Prophecy?"

"Annabeth didn't tell you?" I shook my head. "Oh. Well, you should probably ask her about it. She knows a lot about it. She, Chiron, and… Luke… have all read it," he said bitterly. Again, I got the feeling that he didn't like Luke very much.

"You don't like him, do you?" I asked.

"Not really. He was great at first, but at the end of my first summer here, he tried to kill me."

I gasped. Luke tried to kill someone? Someone that wasn't a monster? I couldn't believe it.

Percy smiled wryly. "Hard for you to believe, huh? It is for Annabeth, too. I wish she would get over him, because the longer she holds on to him, the more it'll hurt if he does something horrible… like poison your tree. On the other hand, I can understand why she can't. If I cared about someone that much, I would want to save them, so it's hard to blame her."

I smiled a little. "Well, at least you've been here for her. I mean, based on what you've just said, you must be a great friend for her."

He looked down and smiled. "Are you looking for her?" he asked me.

"Yeah."

"Cabin six. It's over there," he pointed.

"Thanks." I walked over there and knocked on the door. A tall blonde boy answered the door. I knew I was at the right cabin because he had gray eyes like Annabeth.

"Hello?" he asked.

"Hi. Is Annabeth here?" I asked.

He looked over his shoulder. "No, I don't think so. I think she's at your – well, the tree."

"Oh, okay." I walked over to the tree, and sure enough, Annabeth was sitting there. Her back was against the trunk, and she was reading a book. I sat next to her. "Hey, Annabeth."

She looked up. "Oh, hey Thalia. What's up?"

"I ran into Percy while I was looking for you. He's a nice guy. I'm glad you two are friends," I said.

"Yeah, he's one of my best friends. He's really loyal to, like, everyone that he cares about."

"Sounds like he won't betray anyone," I muttered. She looked down, and looked so sad; I almost didn't push the whole prophecy thing. Almost. "What's funny, is that he mentioned this prophecy about a child of the Big Three. Said that you were one of the few people who had heard it."

Her eyes got wide. "He what?" I gave her a look. "Okay, fine. There's a prophecy that says the first child of the Big Three who turns sixteen will make a choice."

"Well, obviously there's more to it than that, or else it's not a prophecy," I said. "What kind of choice is it?"

She sighed. "I'm going to kill Seaweed Brain for mentioning the prophecy," she muttered. "The choice is one that could either save or destroy Olympus. That's why Luke poisoned your tree. Kronos knew Percy would never join him, and Luke knew that we would look for the Golden Fleece. They must've known that you would have come back. You're older than Percy, and well… you and Luke are pretty close."

I thought about it. I was fifteen. In December, I'd have to make a choice between the gods and the titans.

But in the end, that's not what it came to. I'd end up having to choose between Luke and Annabeth. Luke had hurt me, hurt everyone. But I loved him. I loved Luke more than anyone.

I looked at Annabeth. She was thirteen now, but I still saw the little seven year old girl. I couldn't betray the little girl who had idolized me so long ago. Could I?

No, I couldn't. But maybe… maybe I could run away from destiny. My mom… my mom might take me back. I mean, she was my mother. And I wasn't ready to be responsible for the fate of the world.

"Hey Annabeth. Hi Thalia." I looked up. It was Percy.

"Hey Percy," Annabeth said. "Actually, Thalia and I were just talking, so if you could –"

"Actually, I was just leaving. I need to make a phone call." I got up, leaving the two alone. I couldn't find a phone, but then I remembered something about an Iris message.

I made a rainbow and threw a drachma in. "Ms. Grace, Las Vegas." That was where the summer house was.

But when an image came, I didn't see my mom. I saw a man, with black hair and blue eyes. The same blue eyes I had.

"Father?" I asked tentatively.

He looked at me. "Thalia. Trying to find your mother, I see. I'm afraid… I'm afraid you can't. When… when you became a tree… I came here, to her. I told her of your fate. She didn't take the news very well. Got very drunk. She drove and got into an accident. I'm afraid… she didn't survive." His words didn't sound very sad, and I almost called him out on it. But then I saw his eyes. They were so full of sorrow, like mine must have been when I heard about Luke. I just waved my hand over the Iris message and went to my cabin. I cried for the second time that day, for my second lost loved one. Somehow, I had a feeling this pain would never end.

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**Well???????? What did you think??????? I wrote a lot of this while I had anesthesia still in my system, so sorry if it's not as good as other chapters!!!!!!!!!!!**

**PLEASE REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!**


	13. A new home?

**Here's chapter thirteen!!!!!!!!! I hope everyone likes it!!!!!!!!!!!! R&R!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!**

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It was nearing the end of summer. A lot of people were packing up, getting ready to go home. I wasn't. My mom, and thus, my home, was gone. It felt odd. I had always belonged somewhere. First, I'd belonged with my mom, then Luke, and then Luke and Annabeth. But here, at Camp Half-Blood… I don't know. I just didn't… fit.

I shook it off. I had been emotional enough for the first week I got back. Annabeth had thought there was something wrong with me. I needed to be more fun, rather than depressing. I had to show everyone that I'm still the same old Thalia. Well, everyone that would be here.

I walked over to the Athena cabin, walked in, and plopped down on Annabeth's bed. "Hey, Annabeth."

"Hi, Thalia," she answered. "What are you doing here? I told you I'd be packing, and that I'd come to your cabin when I was done."

Oh, right. She had said that. "Yeah, well, unlike you, I don't have any packing to do. So, I'm going to help you pack instead."

Her face got sad. "Oh, yeah. Sure, you can help if you want to."

I started folding some of her clothes and putting them in her suitcase. "I still can't believe your back with your family. While we were on the run, you described them as if they were monsters. I was about ready to run them through with my totally awesome and trustworthy spear," I joked.

She grinned. "Well, then I guess it's good we never went by the house. We wouldn't want you to be chased by monsters _and _the government."

"Yeah, that would suck, wouldn't it?"

We laughed. "Hey, you'll come and break me out of here if there's a Green Day concert nearby, right?" I asked.

"Yeah, of course. I'm guessing you want me to break you out every day so that you won't die of boredom?" she asked.

"Naturally. What else would we do?"

"I don't know, maybe you could mingle with the other half-bloods for once," she said absent-mindedly.

"You think I should?" I asked. "I don't think I'd find anyone I like."

She thought for a second. "No, I don't think so." She grinned suddenly. "They'd have to like you first."

"Ha ha," I said, and made a face. I grabbed her shoe and threw it at her. She caught it and smiled good-naturedly.

"Don't worry, Thalia," Annabeth said, and put her arm around me. "I like you well enough."

"I don't reciprocate," I said laughing. She shoved me off the bed, and I landed on the floor with a thump. I stared at her. Suddenly, I noticed how strong she looked. She wasn't the frail seven year old girl anymore. "Since when can you shove me to the floor?" I asked.

"Ten seconds ago, when you stopped fighting back," she said promptly.

I didn't say anything. I just stood up and looked at the ground. Then, without warning, I tackled her to the ground.

"Hey!" she yelled. By then, she was on the ground, and I was sitting on her back.

"What, did you think I'd actually let you shove me to the ground and not get payback?" I asked. "I'm nice, but I'm not that nice."

"You? Nice? Since when?"

"Ever since I let you eat my ice cream," I said immediately.

She hesitated. "Fair enough. Can I get up now?"

I let her up. "When are your parents going to get here?"

She looked at her watch. "A couple hours."

"Well, we're done packing," I said, while zipping her suitcase closed, "so how about we do something fun?"

"Yeah, sure," she said. "I'll just go get Percy."

I looked at her, bewildered. "Percy?" I smiled. "So, you hang out with Percy a lot, then?"

"No!" she protested.

The rest of the Athena cabin snorted. One of them, Malcolm, said, "Not hang out with Percy a lot? Please. You spend more time with him than all of us, and we're your siblings."

"And you kissed him," one of Annabeth's sisters, Emily, added.

I turned to Annabeth so fast it took a few seconds for my brain to catch up. "What kiss? When? Explain. Everything. Now." I pulled her down so that we were both sitting on her bed.

She glared at her cabin mates. "Thanks, guys."

I grabbed her shoulders and shook her. "Don't talk to them! Explain _everything _to me. Right now!"

She groaned. "There is nothing. He's one of my best friends, that's it."

"Then why'd you kiss him?" I yelled, frustrated. She was making this way too difficult.

"Because, he did something really sweet, and I was impressed."

"That's a bogus reason, and you know it," I pointed out.

"Annabeth?"

We jumped. Percy was standing in the doorway of the Athena cabin. "Your family just got here."

Annabeth scrambled up and tucked her hair behind her ear. "Yeah, okay, I'll, uh, be right there."

Percy left, and I whispered in her ear, "You two make a cute couple."

She hit my arm grabbed her suitcase and walked out. I followed closely behind. Her dad and stepmom looked kind of nice. Not nearly as evil as Annabeth had made them out to be when she was seven. Her step-brothers… her step-brothers were kind of little, and they were painful reminders of little Annabeth. It wasn't until that moment I realized I'd liked feeling _needed. _That was the person I was. I needed to be a permanent difference.

"Thalia?"

"What?" I blinked. Annabeth was waving her hand in front of my face. "Sorry. I spaced."

"Okay, well, I'm leaving now. Are you going to be okay without me?"

That woke me up. "What are you, my mother? I may have aged slower than you, but I'm still older. I don't need you around me every ten seconds."

She grinned. "Okay, if you say so." She hugged me. "Bye."

"Bye." As she walked away, I felt my only connection to this new time follow her, and I felt completely and utterly alone.

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**Well??????? What did you think??????? Please review!!!!!!!!!!!!**


	14. Unexpected Surprises: Part One

**Here's the next chapter!!!!!!!!! Sorry it took so long, but my arm's still broken. R&R!!!!!!!!!!!!!**

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"Are you sure you want to go?" Chiron asked, his face full of concern.

"Yes, Chiron, I'm sure," I said for what must have been the millionth time. "I don't belong here. The only reason I stayed for the summer was because Grover was here, and he was one of my friends. Now he's gone, too, along with Luke and Annabeth. I don't have any ties here until Annabeth comes back. So I'm going to go to this boarding school, and you can't tell me otherwise." I knew I probably sounded bratty, but I didn't care. I just wanted to get out of here.

"What if there's an attack? It would be safer for you here," Chiron insisted. I knew he was just looking out for me, but this annoyed me to no end. I was used to taking care of myself. Having someone else try to take care of me… it just didn't feel right. I could do this on my own.

"I can take care of myself. I know how to fight," I said, desperately trying not to yell at him. Why was he fighting me on this? I could do this. I _needed _to do this. "I did for the gods only know how long while I was on the run. This isn't any different."

He looked at me for a long time. I could tell he was warring with himself. He wanted me to be safe, but he didn't want to force me to stay here either. I was hoping that the latter would win out.

He sighed, and I knew that I won. "All right. But try to stay out of trouble," he warned.

"I will!" I called back, already running towards the van. I jumped in, and thought to myself. What I had told Chiron was true. I _didn't _belong here. But I doubted I would belong at the school either. Before I met Luke, I had belonged in whatever place I felt like being in. After, we had been inseparable. I strongly believed we were meant to be together – and not just as friends, despite what I had told an Aphrodite camper when they asked me. Then when Annabeth came along, she seamlessly fit in with our little group, and we became one, big, happy family. We were _meant _to be one, big, happy family. Grover just added to that when he came along. We all belonged together. I _belonged _with Luke and Annabeth – and Grover, too, to a certain extent.

When I became a tree, I wasn't _with _them, per se, but I was a tree. I still had my human emotions because, in a way, I was still human. But trees don't have emotions, so they didn't really affect me like they should have. I felt time pass, but that was about it. But now… now I would have to be away from them, away from my _family, _and my emotions would affect me now. This was going to be torture.

I rested my head on the window, and sat there silently for the rest of the ride.

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When we arrived at the school, I grabbed my suitcase and stepped out of the van. It was intimidating. Chiron had insisted that since I wouldn't be learning about Greek mythology, I should at least go to a school with Greek architecture. Because of that, this school had those pillars that you say way too often, and any building with pillars is bound to be huge. It was white, because really, what building with pillars isn't? It was a really magnificent building, but despite the cheeriness it tried to show, it was dark and gloomy. Then again, schools tend to be like that.

There were a lot of students, all of them in uniforms. They had pine green shirts, and a plaid skirt that was green and red. It made me want to puke. Where was the black? I was definitely a sore thumb in this place. Even if I was in uniform, I would have stood out. This school may be in Brooklyn, but it was the… richer… part of Brooklyn. I was the only one with dark make-up, and the only one with really short hair. Some of them had short hair, but they all had hair past their shoulders. Plus, you could wear whatever shoes you wanted, so I would probably be wearing black combat boots. Looking at the school, I started to think that I should have read that pamphlet Chiron had given me.

I took a deep breath. "Okay, Thalia, time to go," I murmured to myself, and I started to walk into the school.

Suddenly, I heard someone yell, "Thalia?" I looked around and saw a blonde blur attack me. I screamed as it almost pushed me to the ground. When the blur came into focus, I realized that it was…

"Annabeth!" I yelled excitedly. "What are you doing here?"

"This is my new school! I can't believe you're going to be here! This is going to be so great," she said. She was grinning from ear to ear.

"Yeah, it is. When I saw the uniforms, I thought it was going to be torture, but now it'll just be mildly unpleasant."

She laughed, and my spirits got even brighter. I was with my family. I was where I belonged. I was happy. As long as I had Annabeth, it wouldn't be too hard to survive this school and their infernal uniforms. "Hey, do you want to go shopping later?" she asked.

"Yeah, sure. When?" I asked.

She looked at her watch. "Ten minutes."

I smirked. "Okay, just let me go put my stuff away first."

I went up to my room. I put my suitcase down, and decided I'd unpack when I got back. There was a knock on my door. I opened it to see a very stern-looking woman. "You have a visitor," she said. "You have one hour."

She turned and my visitor walked in, and my heart stopped. My breathing grew ragged, and when my heart restarted it was going a thousand miles per hour, and hammering so hard I thought China could hear it.

"Thalia. You look… good," my visitor said. His voice was tight, and he was in pain. Like he had missed me, but was afraid I would reject him. Like he desperately wanted things to be okay between us, but was afraid I would throw him out in ten seconds flat.

"Luke?" I whispered.

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**Oooohhh… cliffy. Well????? What did you think?????? PLEASE REVIEW!!!!!!!!!**

**And I knew that this encounter wasn't in the book, but… well, I'll explain at the end of the next chapter. I don't want to ruin the surprise.**


	15. Unexpected Surprises: Part Two

**Okay, here's part two!!!!!!!!! I hope you like it!!!!!!!!!!! There's some real Thuke in here, for all the Thalia/Luke fans out there!!!!!!!!! R&R!!!!!!!**

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"_Thalia. You look… good," my visitor said. His voice was tight, and he was in pain. Like he had missed me, but was afraid I would reject him. Like he desperately wanted things to be okay between us, but was afraid I would throw him out in ten seconds flat._

"_Luke?" I whispered._

"You don't look happy to see me," he said.

"That's because I'm not," I growled.

His eyes widened in surprise in hurt. He opened his mouth to say something, but I beat him to it. "How could you?"

"How could I what?"

"Everything. You betrayed us. You betrayed _me,_" I accused. My voice broke at the end, and my eyes started getting wet. _I will not cry, I will NOT cry! _I yelled internally.

"I would _never _betray you," Luke insisted, and he stepped towards me.

I stepped back, away from him. "You did. You poisoned me. You tried to kill me! And you left Annabeth, after you promised me you would take care of her! You did betray me, Luke!" I yelled.

"Thalia, I can explain," he tried to say. I refused to listen.

"Explain what?" I screamed. "Explain why you poisoned me?" I knew I was using that example a lot, but hey, he tried to _poison _me! "How can you possibly justify that? It takes someone absolutely horrible to be able to justify trying to kill someone they supposedly love!"

"Supposedly?" He yelled. "How can you think that it's _supposedly?_ Everything I have done was for _you._"

"How does killing me help me? You hypocritical jerk, how is any of this for _me?_" I cried. I stepped towards him and slapped him across the face. Hard.

He stepped back. His face went red where I slapped him. His blue eyes bored into mine, his full of pain, mine with anger. "I wouldn't have killed you. I would _never _hurt you. I knew Percy and Annabeth would find the Golden Fleece. I knew that, after we used it for our purposes, it would be used on you. I knew it would bring you back – out of your tree state even. I did it _for _you Thalia. You have to believe me."

He had walked towards me during his speech. By the end, he was right in front of me, whispering. His face was an inch away from mine. I wanted so badly to believe him, but so many other things didn't add up.

"What about everything else?" I whispered. "Why did you join Kronos? You hurt Annabeth… and me, too. You hurt everyone."

"The gods betrayed us, Thalia," he said. "They don't deserve their reign. Don't you remember all those times we cursed the gods? And then Zeus turned you into a tree. He took you away from Annabeth. The gods hurt all of us long before I hurt anyone. I'm just trying to make everything right again. You, me, and Annabeth, just like it was always meant to be."

It made so much sense just to forgive him and join him. He was trying to restore what had once been – him, me, and Annabeth. Wasn't that what I wanted too? Annabeth and Luke were everything to me. Living without them was pointless. Wasn't that my entire argument to leaving Camp? That I didn't belong there without Annabeth or Luke? I wanted so badly to just forgive him and join him so that we could be one big happy family again. But I knew Annabeth. She would never go for it, especially with Percy in the picture now. And no matter how much I wanted to be with Luke, I couldn't leave Annabeth behind.

"I will join you if Annabeth agrees. You get her to come along, and I'll come too," I said. "But that's the only way."

His face fell, and my heart broke. "Okay," was all he said. He didn't move. He stayed there, looking into my eyes. My heart started racing.

"Why are you still here?" I asked.

"I'm trying to decide something," he admitted.

"What?"

"There's something I should have done a long time ago. But I'm not sure if now's a good time either."

"Well, it's either now or never. Your choice," I said. I had no idea what he was planning. I was just hoping that he wasn't about to kill me.

He leaned towards me, and my heart beat faster. My breathing grew ragged. There was about a centimeter of space before we –

His lips touched mine, which jerked me out of my thoughts. All I could think about was the electricity that came from that small contact, and the way my heart and breathing had suddenly stopped. All thought stopped. I acted on instinct. I grabbed him and pulled him closer to me, and ran my fingers through his soft, blonde hair. I felt his hands running through my short, dark hair. We had a really serious make-out session.

Suddenly, I heard a cough in my doorway. I broke away and saw one of the teachers standing there, arms crossed. Luke and I separated, and my head was spinning. I could barely focus on anything.

"Your ten minutes are over," she said sternly, a disapproving look on her face.

"Yeah, um, okay," Luke said. He stared at the ground and walked out. Then he stopped and turned around. "Thalia, I never did get to tell you what I really wanted to say."

"What?" I asked.

"Too late," the evil teacher said. "Another time."

I opened my mouth to protest, but Luke said, "Okay, sure."

"Bye," I told him.

"Bye."

I fell on the bed. Five minutes later, Annabeth came up. "Hey, what's taking so long?"

"I was just tired. I'll be right down," I lied. All through the rest of the day, all I could think about was Luke's lips on mine.

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**Okay, just to let you all know, Luke came to talk to Thalia about bathing in the River Styx. He must have done it before Titan's Curse, otherwise he would have died when he fell off the cliff.**

**I hope everyone liked it!!!!!!!!!! Please review!!!!!!!!!!!!**


	16. Creepy schools & trigger happy teachers

**HI!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am so sorry that it took so long to update!!!!!!!!!!! My computer was having some serious issues.**

**R&R!!!!!!!!!!! If I have any readers left after that long wait… That would be bad if they were gone… (Crawls into a corner and cries).**

**I do not own PJO.**

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The Friday before winter break. The school was buzzing with excitement. Annabeth and I were especially excited. We were going back to camp, and would get to see each other all the time every single day. That is, until Annabeth got a call from Percy. He never called her – he usually sent an e-mail. So when her cell phone rang, I immediately expected the worst. Especially considering how the conversation seemed to be going.

"Why would he send a distress call? Do you think he found one?" Annabeth asked. I heard a garbled response from the phone. "Didn't he tell you?" More garbled noises from her cell phone. "Is it really so important that all three of us need to go? Thalia and I were going to –" Percy interrupted her at that point. She looked sad. "Yeah, I guess you're right. I just missed her so much." She didn't realize that I could still hear her. I briefly thought about my conversation with Luke five months ago, and then pushed it out of my mind. If Grover was in trouble, I couldn't risk thinking about that. I would think about it _too _much.

"Yeah, okay. Bye, Seaweed Brain." She hung up the phone and turned to me. "Percy and his mom will be here in about ten minutes."

"Well," I said. "There go the movies. Unless Percy and Grover want to see one with us whenever we get done with our mission, or whatever this will turn into."

"Nah, they'll want to see some movie that we would rather die than see. They don't seem to enjoy romantic comedies," she commented.

I grinned. "Oh, they do. They're just too macho to admit it."

Annabeth laughed. "Got that right."

We sat around talking about the most random things, from movies to the purple kangaroo in the Aussie commercial (don't ask me how we got to that). Then Percy's mom pulled up.

"Hey, Annabeth. Thalia," he said. He moved over so that Annabeth could get in, while I sat up in the front. I figured that the two of them would want their privacy. They didn't know that they liked each other, but pretty much everyone else knew.

We were suddenly too nervous to say anything. We were completely silent on the drive to… wherever it is we were going. Percy's mom, however, told us all about Percy's baby stories. I almost felt sorry for him. Then again, I had never had anyone who talked about that kind of stuff. My mom didn't really pay a lot of attention. Well, not to me at least. I felt a pang of guilt for these kinds of thoughts, but I couldn't help it. She was about the same kind of mom dead as she was alive – oblivious.

At the end of the eight hour drive, I peered out through the window. It was even worse than _my _school. It was all black, which was okay if you liked black (which I did). But it was the kind of dark black that makes you want to go crying to mommy. If you're a wuss, that is. Which I'm not. Where my school was Greek, this school was… whatever country had those castles that you always see in movies. Somewhere in Europe. "Oh, yeah. This'll be fun," I said sarcastically.

"Are you sure you don't want me to wait?" Ms. Jackson said.

"No thanks, mom. I don't know how long it will take. We'll be okay," he said.

"But how will you get back? I'm worried, Percy." My throat suddenly felt kind of tight. This was how mothers were _supposed _to act.

"It's okay, Ms. Jackson." Annabeth smiled. "We'll keep him out of trouble."

She relaxed. "All right, dears. Do you have everything you need?"

"Yes, Ms. Jackson," I said politely. "Thanks for the ride."

"Extra sweaters? You have my cell phone number?"

"Mom –" Percy tried to say.

"Your nectar and ambrosia, Percy?" she asked. "And a golden drachma in case you need to contact camp?"

"Mom, seriously! We'll be fine. Come on, guys." The exchange reminded me of that day when we went to May Castellan's place to help my leg, and Luke's fight with Hermes.

Percy jumped out of the car and Annabeth and I scrambled to follow him… just like at Luke's mom's place. Why were there so many painful memories of Luke and mothers?

"Your mom is so cool, Percy." _You have no idea how lucky you really are, _I added silently.

"She's pretty okay. What about you? You ever get in touch with your mom?"

_Ouch, _I thought, at the sudden pain in my chest. How could she hurt me this badly when she never even noticed me? I gave Percy the most evil glare I could manage. It must have been pretty evil, because he backed off. But I decided to say something, for extra measure. "If that was any of your business, Percy –" I growled, right before Annabeth interrupted me.

"We'd better get inside. Grover will be waiting."

I looked at the school and shivered. It just felt so… dark, and gloomy. The kind of dark and gloomy that not even a goth can stand. "You're right. I wonder what he found here that made him send the distress call."

"Nothing good," Percy said. I looked back at the school, and another shiver went up my spine. I had a horrible feeling that I was going to lose someone else that I loved.

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We walked inside. The school was _huge. _There were weapons everywhere, which made me distrust the school even more. I started rubbing Aegis. I wanted to be prepared if there was a fight.

"I wonder where –" Annabeth said, and then the doors slammed shut.

"Okay. Guess we'll stay awhile," Percy said. I immediately wanted to run back and bang on the door. But I couldn't. We had a job to do.

We walked on, trying to find Grover. Suddenly, a man and woman marched up to us.

"Well? What are you doing here?" the woman demanded. I wonder what _her _problem was.

"Um…" Percy said. "Ma'am, we're just –"

"Ha!" the man, who was apparently French (based on his accent), said. "Visitors are not allowed at the dance! You shall be ejected!" Well, isn't _someone _a little punishment happy?

Well, I knew exactly what to do. Chiron had taught me this very carefully. I walked forward and snapped. I saw the effects of the Mist begin to work. "Oh, but we're not visitors, sir," I said. However, what I really wanted to say was a little more… colorful. "We go to school here. You remember: I'm Thalia. And this is Annabeth and Percy. We're in the eighth grade." It still bugged me that I was in the same grade as Annabeth even though I was older. Although, it wasn't all bad. I was technically still supposed to be in the sixth grade, due to running away in October of that year.

The man narrowed his eyes at me, and I realized that they were different colors: one blue and one brown. He looked at the other teacher. "Ms. Gottschalk, do you know these students?"

Oh, my gods. Seriously? Ms. Got Chalk? Really? I was _really _glad that I didn'tgo to this school. I would never be able to take her class seriously.

Got Chalk blinked. The Mist was working. "I… yes, I believe I do, sir. Annabeth. Thalia. Percy. What are you doing away from the gymnasium?"

Then Grover ran up. "You made it! You –"

He cut off when he saw Got Chalk and the other guy. "Oh, Mrs. Gottschalk. Dr. Thorn! I, uh –"

"What _is _it, Mr. Underwood?" Whoa, he really didn't like Grover, did he? "What do you mean they made it? These students live here."

"Yes, sir. Of course, Dr. Thorn. I just meant, I'm so glad they made… the punch for the dance! The punch is great. And they made it!" Really, Grover? Really? You couldn't think of ANYTHING better than that?

Got Chalk spoke before Thorn could. "Yes, the punch is excellent. Now run along, all of you. You are not to leave the gymnasium again!"

We left, very quickly. "How did you do that finger snap thing?" Percy asked.

I was startled. "You mean the Mist? Hasn't Chiron shown you how to do that yet?"

"That was close!" Grover said. "Thank the gods you got here!"

"So, what's the emergency?" Percy asked, after we had given Grover our greetings.

"I found two."

I sucked in a breath. "Two half-bloods? Here?"

He nodded. "A brother and a sister. They're ten and twelve. I don't know their parentage, but they're strong. We're running out of time, though. I need help."

"Monsters?" I demanded. We needed to know the entire situation, and fast.

"One," he said nervously. "He suspects. I don't think he's positive yet, but this is the last day of the term. I'm sure he won't let them leave campus without finding out. It may be our last chance! Every time I try to get close to them, he's always there, blocking me. I don't know what to do!"

"Right," I said. "These half-bloods are at the dance?"

He nodded.

"Then let's dance. Who's the monster?"

"Oh," Grover said. "You just met him. He's the vice principal, Dr. Thorn."

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	17. We lose the di Angelos and Seaweed Brain

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As soon as we entered the gymnasium, I wanted to run away screaming. How could people do this? There were happy decorations _everywhere. _I thought this was a military school! Shouldn't there be some rule against this monstrosity?! I wanted to die. Slowly and painfully. Just as long as I didn't have to see this… this… I didn't even know _what _to call it. But we had a job to do. I would have to endure this torture. I groaned internally. This was going to be a _long _night.

"There they are," Grover said. He nodded to two kids in the bleachers. They were arguing about something. Typical siblings. "Bianca and Nico di Angelo."

The boy, the younger sibling, was playing with some kind of cards. They both had dark hair and eyes. His sister, Bianca, was scolding him, and wearing a floppy green hat. As an only child, I stared at them, intrigued that they looked so much alike.

"Do they… I mean, have you told them?" Annabeth asked, which brought me back to our mission.

Grover shook his head in response. "You know how it is. That could put them in more danger. Once they realize who they are, their scent becomes stronger."

There was a brief silence. "So let's grab them and get them out of here," Percy said. He started towards them. Then I saw him. Thorn. He was standing near them. I held out my hand and stopped Percy. He noticed him then, too. Thorn nodded in our general direction. Oh, Styx.

"Don't look at the kids," I said. "We have to wait for a chance to get them. We need to pretend we're not interested in them. Throw him off the scent."

"How?" he asked. Ugh. Seaweed Brain. But this wasn't the time to be critical.

"We're three powerful half-bloods. Our presence should confuse him. Mingle. Act natural. Do some dancing. But keep an eye on those kids," I ordered.

"Dance?" Annabeth asked. She obviously wasn't very thrilled with this plan. I nodded. Then… I heard it.

It was torture! It was horrible! Who could possibly stand _listening _to this?! Why me? Why did I have to be here right now?! Oh, the horror! I felt like clawing at my ears, making it so that I wouldn't have to listen to this ever again. Ever. It was… _Jesse McCartney._

"Ugh," I said, making a face. I probably looked sick. I definitely _felt _it. "Who chose the Jesse McCartney?"

"I did," Grover said. He looked hurt. I didn't care. He subjected me to this torture. I would drag him down with me.

"Oh my gods, Grover. That is so lame. Can't you play, like, Green Day or something?" Oh, who do I have to kill to listen to Green Day right now?

"Green who?" Oh. That was it. _Now _he was _dead. _How do you not know who GREEN DAY is? Is that even possible?! Annabeth knew who Green Day was, and she didn't listen to a lot of music! I felt like ripping him limb from limb. I managed to stay calm, though.

"Never mind. Let's dance."

"But I can't dance!" Well, then you can be tortured too, Jesse McCartney loving goat boy!

"You can if I'm leading. Come on, goat boy." I grabbed his hand and yanked him onto the dance floor. He yelped. I felt an odd pleasure at thinking of him in pain.

We started slow dancing. Grover kept kicking me, and he looked about as tortured as I felt. Good. It was his own fault for choosing _Jesse McCartney _and not knowing who Green Day is. Stupid goat.

I kept glancing over at the di Angelo kids. It didn't look like they were going anywhere, but Thorn was watching them like a hawk.

I looked at Percy and Annabeth. They were talking. Not good. What happened to dancing! They didn't want to stand out, did they?

"Hey!" I said. They looked at me. "Dance, you guys! You look stupid just standing there."

Grover and I moved away, dancing the entire time. He looked absolutely miserable. I was starting to forgive him for not knowing who Green Day was. Not quite for choosing Jesse McCartney, though.

Then, I saw Annabeth's blonde, curly hair bouncing up and down as she ran over. I had a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach. Something was wrong. _Really _wrong.

"Thalia! Grover!" she said.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"They're gone. I looked over at the bleachers, and they weren't there!"

I looked over. Sure enough, the kids were gone. I cursed under my breath. How could I not have been paying attention?

"Okay, let's split up and look around. Grover, you go over there. Annabeth, you go that way, and Percy…" I trailed off. I looked around. Where was Percy?

"Annabeth? Where did Percy go?"

She whirled around. "I thought he was following me!" Oh great, now we lost two half-bloods _and _Seaweed Brain. Chiron was going to _kill _me.

Grover suddenly grew pale. "I know where he is."

"Where?" Annabeth asked, right before I could even open up my mouth to ask. Just friends, huh…

"Outside. With the di Angelos. He's fighting Dr. Thorn."

Oh, Styx.

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	18. We meet pushy, annoying people again

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We were running. Annabeth had put on her invisibility hat. Grover and I were staying behind, waiting for some sort of signal to run in and save the day.

When we got there, I heard a voice. Thorn.

"… The Great Stirring is underway," he said.

"The Great what?" a voice asked. Percy. Okay, so at least he wasn't dead. And hopefully, he would stay that way. Then I could kill him myself. But what about the di Angelos?

"The stirring of monsters," Thorn said. That didn't sound good. "The worst of them, the most powerful, are now waking." Oh, Styx. "Monsters that have not been seen in thousands of years." And they haven't faded away yet? They must be pretty resilient. "They will cause death and destruction the likes of which mortals have never known." He obviously hasn't heard of the Holocaust or 9-11 or the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. "And soon we shall have the most important monster of all – the one that shall bring about the downfall of Olympus!" Well, isn't that funny. That's about the thousandth time that has been said. I wonder if anyone says anything different in their deadly monster speech, like 'here's the second best monster. The first best couldn't be contacted due to the fact that it's decided to root for your side. I apologize for the inconvenience, but hey, at least I'm better than the other guys. They always say they have the best until some other monster comes along. I however, say straight out that they're second. That way, if a better one comes along, I don't have to change my super awesome speech. So, beat that other evil, ugly people!' I mean, is there a specific reason that they always say that it's the best? Can't they just give the poor monster a break and be honest with it? It's not like flattering it is going to make it any better. They might as well just say, 'hey, you're just second best, but I'm going to say that you're the best so that you'll fight with me'. It reaches the same end: failure.

Suddenly, Thorn shot something at Percy and the di Angelos. I almost screamed, except that an invisible force shoved them to the ground. Oh, right. The signal.

Grover and I charged out. I was holding Aegis, my shield. Thorn growled when he saw it. Serves him right for giving people false hopes, saying they're the best when they probably suck.

"For Zeus!" I yelled, and thrust my spear at his head. He gave me an evil look and hit my spear to the side. He slashed at Aegis with his paw, and I rolled backwards to land on my feet. He started sending volleys of missiles at my shield, knocking me down.

I suddenly heard Grover play on his reed pipes. I groaned. I would never say it to his face, but… well, reeds weren't exactly his forte. I saw grass break through the snow. It grew really big and wrapped around his legs. I guess Grover wasn't so bad with the reeds after all.

Thorn roared, very loudly. Did he think he could scare us to death or something? Doesn't he know that it's an expression? I couldn't really see him, but Annabeth could. And she must have guessed at what he was, because she yelled, "A manticore!"

"A manticore?" Nico said. "He's got three thousand attack power and plus five to saving throws!"

_What? _I managed to think. _Is English his fifth language or something? Or am I just missing something really, really important?_

I saw Grover's grass getting ripped to shreds. So much for that Plan… whatever letter we were on.

"Get down!" Annabeth yelled. I saw a flash of her blonde hair as she pushed the di Angelos to the ground. I saw Percy lift up his shield seconds before Thorn's missiles would have skewered him. I saw Grover land next to him soon after. Thorn must have attacked him.

"Yield!" the manticore yelled.

"Never!" I yelled. I had to get back into this fight somehow. They needed me. So I did the first thing that came to mind.

I charged.

Suddenly, bright lights momentarily blinded me and took me off guard. He hit me with his tail. My shield and my spear were gone.

"No!" Percy yelled. He hit a spike away and saved my life. He held up his shield, but we both knew that it wouldn't be enough.

I heard Thorn laugh. "Now do you see how hopeless it is? Yield, little heroes."

Then… I heard a hunting horn. Thorn froze. I felt like I was going to die. Oh, please, anyone but _them._

"No," Thorn said. "It cannot be –"

Suddenly, a silver arrow was protruding through his shoulder. Oh, Styx, it was them.

"Curse you!" Thorn yelled. Personally, I was with Thorn on this one. The Huntresses should just go away and leave us alone. Especially Zoë.

More arrows were coming. Then they came out of the woods. They were dressed in silver, and all young women or children.

"The Hunters!" Annabeth yelled. No, really?

"Oh, wonderful," I muttered. Percy gave me a confused look, but I ignored him.

Then Zoë stepped out. "Permission to kill, my lady?" she asked. Stupid perfectionist.

"This is not fair!" Thorn yelled. "Direct interference! It is against the Ancient Laws." Oh, quit whining. At least you get to die instead of listen to them. I would gladly trade.

"Not so," a voice said. I looked over. Artemis, I was sure of it. "The hunting of all wild beasts is within my sphere. And you, foul creature, are a wild beast." Yeah, that was definitely Artemis. "Zoë, permission granted."

Thorn growled. "If I cannot have these alive, I shall have them dead!" He lunged at us.

"No!" I heard someone yell. I saw a flash of blonde hair jump on his back and drive her knife into his mane. As soon as my thoughts caught up with what I was seeing, my heart stopped. Annabeth.

"Get back, half-blood!" Zoë yelled. She could have at least remembered Annabeth's name. "Get out of the line of fire!"

She didn't. My heart stopped. Artemis wouldn't fire with Annabeth in the way, would she?

"Fire!" Zoë ordered. Apparently, Zoë would.

"No!" Percy screamed.

But the arrows flew through the air. Thorn walked backwards, towards the edge of the cliff. "This is not the end, Huntress! You shall pay!"

Then he jumped over the cliff. My heart stopped for the third time in a row. The difference was that I wasn't sure that it would start again.

I couldn't listen to the rest of the conversation. I couldn't move. It hurt to breathe. All I could see was Annabeth falling over that cliff, and all I could hear were Zoë's words inside my head: _He will hurt you, I can promise that! All men do eventually. _

She was wrong, but not for the same reason I had thought. It wasn't just that men would hurt you. All people that you let into your hearts would hurt you in the end. Not necessarily because they betrayed you, but because they have the power to rip your heart out by doing the littlest things.

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	19. Misery Loves Company

**I'M SO SORRY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I've just had SOOOOOOOO much homework!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I could only start writing today!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm sorry!!!!!!!!!!!! I just hope I still have readers…**

**Disclaimer: I do not own PJO.**

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I started listening to the conversation again. I needed to keep my head in the game. That was the only way I could save Annabeth.

"Thank you, Lady Artemis! You're so… you're so… Wow!" Grover said. Of, course.

"Get up, Goat boy!" I yelled. "We have other things to worry about. Annabeth is gone!" Annabeth… all I saw was her falling off the cliff, but instead of being fourteen years old, she was seven, like when Luke and I first found her.

I tuned out the conversation, again. I didn't want to listen to this. Did any of them even care about Annabeth? Wasn't anyone sad that she was gone? I looked at Percy. I doubt he knew it, but he kept glancing at the cliff every few seconds, like he was hoping she would come floating back to us. Well, at least I wasn't the only one. That made me feel a little better. I started listening again.

"—your stupid Mythomagic game, okay? There are no gods!" Bianca yelled at Nico. Oh, wonderful. They told them. Nico must be happy, but apparently his sister isn't. I decided to cut them a little slack. They weren't the only people whose lives have been turned upside down because of the gods.

"Bianca, I know it's hard to believe," I said. "But the gods are still around. Trust me. They're immortal. And whenever they have kids with regular human, kids like us, well… Our lives are dangerous."

"Dangerous. Like the girl who fell."

I looked down. Gods, didn't Bianca have any empathy for people? Doesn't she realize we don't want to think about it? I felt like slapping her, but I wasn't that dramatic. Maybe a little poison in her breakfast or an accident during Capture the Flag…

"Do not despair for Annabeth," Artemis said. Say WHAT?! Did she not see what had happened to her?! "She was a brave maiden. If she can be found, I shall find her." I wanted to punch her in the face. What, we don't get to look for her? She's OUR friend, we can't just leave her behind and let someone she doesn't even know look for her! And who says shall?

"Then why won't you let us go look for her?" Percy asked. I held back a smile. I could always count on Percy to think about saving Annabeth.

"She is gone. Can't you sense it, Son of Poseidon? Some magic is at work. I do not know exactly how or why, but your friend has vanished." I still wanted to punch her in the face.

"Oooh!" Nico raised his hand. Did he think he was in school or something? That this was a test? What is wrong with these people?! "What about Dr. Thorn? That was awesome how you shot him with arrows! Is he dead?"

"He was a manticore," Artemis said. "Hopefully he is destroyed for now, but monsters never truly die. They re-form over and over again, and they must be hunted whenever they reappear."

"Or they'll hunt us," I said. I wanted them to have nightmares whenever they slept, just like I now would. That should teach them not to have sympathy for Annabeth.

Sure enough, Bianca shivered. "That explains… Nico, you remember last summer, those guys who tried to attack us in the alley in DC?"

"And that bus driver," he added. "The one with the ram's horns. I _told _you that was real!"

"That's why Grover has been watching you," Percy said. "To keep you safe, if you turned out to be half-bloods."

"Grover? You're a demigod?"

"Well, a satyr, actually," Grover said. He kicked off his shoes. Bianca was about to faint.

"Grover, put your shoes back on," I sighed. "You're freaking her out."

"Hey, my hooves are clean!" he protested.

"Bianca," Percy said, "we came here to help you. You and Nico need training to survive. Thorn won't be the last monster you meet. You need to come to camp."

"Camp?" she asked.

"Camp Half-Blood," Percy said. The look on her face was priceless. "It's where half-bloods learn to survive and stuff. You can join us, stay there year-round, if you like."

"Sweet, let's go!" Nico yelled. Wow, from school to vacation. Nico must be into the whole Greek mythology thing.

"Wait, I don't –"

"There _is _another option," Zoë said.

"No, there isn't!" I said. No way. Bianca was not leaving her little brother, the _only _family she had left, to become a huntress. That would be like…

_Like if you had taken Zoë's offer all those years ago. You would have left Annabeth behind when she was even younger than Nico, not to mention Luke._

"We've burdened these children enough," Artemis cut in, before I could choke Zoë like I really wanted to. "Zoë, we will rest here for a few hours. Raise the tents. Treat the wounded. Retrieve our guests' belongings from the school."

"Yes, my lady." My lady. As if Zoë had any form of a heart.

"And Bianca, come with me. I would like to speak with you." Oh, great. So Artemis is going to recruit Bianca herself.

"What about me?" Nico asked. _Yeah, Artemis, _I thought, _what about Nico? Where will he go after you convince his big sister to abandon him?_

"Perhaps you can show Grover how to play that card game you enjoy. I'm sure Grover would be happy to entertain you for a while… as a favor to me?" For a virgin goddess, she sure knew how to use men.

"You bet! Come on, Nico!" Grover said. Stupid Grover.

Everyone left, and then it was just me and Percy. "The nerve of those Hunters! They think they're so… Argh!"

"I'm with you. I don't trust –"

"Oh, you're with me?" I interrupted. "What were you thinking back there in the gym, Percy? You'd take on Dr. Thorn all by yourself? You _knew _he was a monster!"

"I –" he started. I didn't let him finish.

"If we'd stuck together, we could've taken him without the Hunters getting involved," I yelled. I didn't actually know that, but I needed someone else to feel bad. Misery loves company. "Annabeth might still be here. Did you think of that?"

I found that I was crying. I wiped away the tears on my face and left.

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	20. I really should not be driving

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* * *

After Percy told us what was going on, I wanted to scream. They were coming to _camp _with us?! Seriously?!

"The last time the Hunters visited camp, it didn't go well," Grover said. Well, duh, Grover. It the Hunters, for the gods' sakes, of course it didn't go well!

"How'd they even show up here?" Percy asked. "I mean, they just appeared out of nowhere." Of course Percy isn't thinking about the problem at hand.

"And Bianca _joined _them. It's all Zoë's fault. That stuck-up, no good –"

"Who can blame her?" Grover interrupted. "Eternity with Artemis?" He sighed.

Of, course. I rolled my eyes. "You satyrs. You're all in love with Artemis. Don't you get that she'll never love you back?"

"But she's so… into nature." Great, now he sounds like some hippie girl.

"You're nuts."

"Nuts and berries. Yeah." He was obviously not paying attention to what was going on.

A few hours later, the sky started becoming lighter. "About time," Artemis said. "He's soooo lazy during the winter." What?

Percy must have been just as confused as I was, because he asked, "You're, um, waiting for the sunrise?"

"For my brother. Yes." Oh, yeah. Apollo drove the sun, or whatever. "It's not exactly as you think," Artemis told Percy.

"Oh, okay," he replied. "So, it's not like he'll be pulling up in a –"

He was interrupted by a sudden flash of bright light. "Don't look," our resident goddess warned. "Not until he parks."

I looked away. As much as I didn't trust the Huntresses, but not listening to a Goddess usually ended in death. Zoë may want me dead, but I like myself much better alive. There was a big light, and everything got really warm all of the sudden. When it all died down, I looked back.

It was a red convertible. I still wasn't familiar with the makes and models that were made after I became a tree. Percy obviously knew exactly what car it was, because he was drooling. When I looked over, I almost started drooling myself. But not because of the car.

Apollo had sandy hair and blue eyes. He was about seventeen, and wearing jeans, loafers, and a sleeveless T-shirt. He was tall, and his smile was bright and playful. He made Orlando Bloom look like some nerdy kid you'd expect to wear suspenders and a shirt that has a pen pocket.

"Wow," I said. "Apollo is hot."

"He's the sun god," Percy replied.

"That's not what I meant." I couldn't really blame him for not getting it. After all, he was a guy, who was (hopefully) straight.

"Little sister!" the god said. "What's up? You never call. You never write. I was getting worried!"

"I'm fine, Apollo," Artemis sighed. "And I am not your _little _sister."

"Hey, I was born first," he insisted.

"We're twins!" She suddenly yelled. "How many millennia do we have to argue –"

"So what's up?" Apollo interrupted. "Got the girls with you, I see. You all need some tips on archery?"

Artemis looked very annoyed. I was starting to like Apollo better and better. "I need a favor. I have some hunting to do, _alone._" She looked right at Zoë when she said that. "I need you to take my companions to Camp Half-Blood."

"Sure, sis!" he exclaimed. He held up his hands. "I feel a haiku coming on."

The Huntresses groaned. I held back a laugh. Apollo cleared his throat.

"_Green grass breaks through the snow._

_Artemis pleads for my help._

_I am so cool."_

"The last line was only four syllables," Artemis said.

Apollo frowned. "Was it?"

"Yes. What about _I am so big-headed?_"

"No, no, that's six syllables." _Hah, Artemis, _I thought.

"Lord Apollo has been going through this haiku phase ever since he visited Japan," Zoë said. What, we were worthy of her boring speeches now? " 'Tis not as bad as the time he visited Limerick. If I'd had to hear one more poem that started with, _There once was a goddess from Sparta –_"

"I've got it! _I am so awesome. _That's five syllables!" He bowed. Hmmm… hot, funny, could get away with annoying Artemis, and pissed off Zoë? I think Apollo is my favorite god. "And now, sis. Transportation for the Hunters, you say? Good timing. I was just about ready to roll."

"These demigods will also need a ride. Some of Chiron's campers."

"No problem!" He looked us over. "Let's see… Thalia, right?" I just about died on the spot. "I've heard all about you." I could only hope that was a good thing.

I felt my face flush. "Hi, Lord Apollo."

"Zeus's girl, yes? Makes you my half sister." I wasn't comfortable with that comparison. "Used to be a tree, didn't you?" Wonderful. That seemed to be all anyone remembered. "Glad you're back. I hate it when pretty girls turn into trees." Well… I was okay with _that _comparison. "Man, I remember one time –"

"Brother," Artemis interrupted. "You should get going."

"Oh, right." Stupid Artemis. I was starting to like that conversation. Apollo looked at Percy and narrowed his eyes. "Percy Jackson?"

"Yeah. I mean… yes, sir." Oh, good. He was finally being polite with the immortals. Too bad Annabeth wasn't here to see. She would have loved it.

There was a weird silence for a while. "Well!" Apollo finally said. "We'd better load up, huh? Ride only goes one way – west. And if you miss it, you miss it."

"Cool car," Nico said.

"Thanks, kid."

"But how will we all fit?" Now that was a good question.

"Oh," Apollo said, disappointed. "Well, yeah. I hate to change out of sports-car mode, but I suppose…"

A few seconds later, it was one of those weird buses that no one likes at all. "Right. Everybody in," Apollo ordered.

The Huntresses started loading their stuff. Apollo approached Zoë and said, "Here, sweetheart. Let me get that."

Zoë recoiled. "Brother," Artemis scolded. "You do not help my Hunters." Ouch, turning down help? Kind of mean, don't you think? So what if they hate men? It's still mean. "You do not look at, talk to, or flirt with my Hunters." He can look at, talk to, and flirt with me any time he wants. "And you do _not _call them sweetheart." I would very gladly change my name to sweet – no, no I wouldn't. Never mind.

"Sorry. I forgot," he apologized. "Hey, sis, where are you off to anyway?"

"Hunting. It's none of your business," Artemis said.

"I'll find out. I see all. Know all."

"Just drop them off, Apollo," she said, exasperated. "And no messing around!"

"No, no!" he agreed. "I never mess around."

Even I had to smirk at that one. Artemis finally decided to address us. "I will see you by winter solstice. Zoë, you are in charge of the Hunters. Do well. Do as I would do."

"Yes, my lady," little miss goody-two-shoes replied.

Artemis did some weird thing that involved touching the ground and standing up again. "So much danger. The beast must be found." She ran into the woods and was gone.

Apollo turned to us, grinning. He held up the car keys. "So. Who wants to drive?"

Honestly, I don't remember much after that. I remember screaming and lots of burning things. I did hit my head when we landed in the lake. Not enough to need it checked, but bad enough to forget a few things. My fear of heights didn't help.

"Well," Apollo said. "You were right, my dear. You had everything under control! Let's go see if we boiled anyone important, shall we?"

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	21. Percy almost dies

**Sorry for the delay!!!!!!! School finals were coming up, then we went out of town, and I just got back!!!!!!!! And this chapter is kind of short, too. Sorry!!!!!!! R&R!!!!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own PJO.**

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Everything was still a blur to me. I just couldn't let go of losing Annabeth, and then having to drive the sun car right into the lake. I made a few comments here and there, but… I wasn't really focused. All I could think about was finding Annabeth. Then Chiron spoke my thoughts.

"We should launch a search for Annabeth immediately," he told Mr. D.

Yes! Finally, someone who makes sense! "I'll go," I said, at the same time as Percy.

"Certainly not!" Mr. D replied.

Percy and I started complaining. We may fight all the time, but Annabeth had brought us to the same side. I guess she had that affect on some people.

Mr. D held up his hand, and we stopped talking. "From what you have told me," he continued, "we have broken even on this escapade. We have, ah, regrettably lost Annie Bell –"

"Annabeth," Percy cut in angrily. As glad as I was that he was standing up for her, I wanted to scream at him. No one messes with the gods unless they have a death wish. Or, apparently, unless you're Percy.

"Yes, yes," Mr. D said, although I had a feeling that in his mind he was running through a list of things to do to Percy. "And you procured a small annoying boy to replace her." Well… that I had to agree with. "So I see no point risking further half-bloods on a ridiculous rescue. The possibility is very great that this Annie girl is dead." Murder. Is it possible to murder a god? I sure hope so. That would be nice.

"Annabeth may be alive," Chiron said, trying to sound upbeat. There is a very good reason I like him better than Mr. D. "She's very bright. If… if our enemies have her, she will try to play for time. She may even pretend to cooperate."

"That's right," I added. I like being optimistic. It gives you a much better feeling inside. "Luke would want her alive."

"In which case, I'm afraid she will have to be smart enough to escape on her own." Murder. Definitely an option now.

Apparently, Percy agreed with me, because he stood up and glared at Mr. D. "Percy," Chiron warned. Percy, being Percy, didn't listen.

"You're glad to lose another camper," he growled. "You'd like it if we all disappeared!" Wow. He was just now figuring that out?

Mr. D seemed to have the same thought. "You have a point?"

"Yeah." Oh, no. I have a feeling Percy isn't going to see tomorrow. Or the next hour. "Just because you were sent here as a punishment doesn't mean you have to be a lazy jerk!" Or the next minute. "This is your civilization, too. Maybe you could try to help out a little!"

Silence. Pure silence. Except for the fire, there was not a single sound to be heard. Then Nico and Grover came running, possibly saving Percy's life.

"SO COOL!" Nico yelled. "You're… you're a centaur!"

Chiron smiled. I was so glad I wasn't the target of Nico's attention. "Yes, Mr. di Angelo, if you please. Though, I prefer to stay in human form in this wheelchair for, ah, first encounters."

"And, whoa!" he exclaimed, looking at Mr. D. "You're the wine dude? No way!"

Mr. D turned to Nico. He had even more hatred on his face now. "The wine dude?"

"Dionysus, right?" he asked. No, really? I thought the 'wine dude' was Hades! "Oh, wow! I've got your figurine."

"My figurine." He was starting to look confused.

"In my game, Mythomagic. And a holofoil card, too! And even though you've only got like five hundred attack points and everybody thinks you're the lamest god card, I totally think your powers are sweet!" he exclaimed. He was talking so fast I barely understood what he was saying.

Mr. D looked thoroughly confused now. "Ah," he said. "Well, that's… gratifying."

"Percy," Chiron said, "you and Thalia go down to the cabins. Inform the campers we'll be playing capture the flag tomorrow evening." Seriously?! We're thinking about games when Annabeth is _still missing?!_

"Capture the flag?" Percy asked, incredulous. "But we don't have enough –"

"It is a tradition," Chiron explained. "A friendly match, whenever the Hunters visit."

"Yeah, I bet it's real friendly," I muttered.

"Run along now," he added, jerking his head towards Mr. D.

"Oh, right," I said. "Come on, Percy."

I dragged him away. After all, we _didn't _want him dead.

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	22. Friends Again?

**Here's the next chapter!!!!!!!!!!!! I hope you like it!!!!!!!!!!!! R&R!!!!!!!!!!!!!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO.**

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"You've already got Ares on your bad side. You need another immortal enemy?" I asked him. How did he expect to help me find Annabeth if every single immortal hated him?!

"Sorry," he said. "I couldn't help it. It's just so unfair."

I knew what he meant. We should be allowed to look for Annabeth. I mean… it was _Annabeth. _We all just seemed to be so lost without her. Except for those stupid Huntresses who seem to be unable to care less. I knew there was a reason I hated them.

"Percy, everything is unfair," I said, suddenly exasperated, as if we'd had this conversation before. The truth is, only I had. With Luke, with Annabeth, with pretty much everyone who brought it up. "Sometimes I wish…"

I let my voice trail off, but that didn't stop the hurricane of thoughts in my head. Sometimes I wish I never knew who I was. Sometimes I wish I had stayed with my mother instead of leaving with Luke. Sometimes I wish I could have been stronger, so I wouldn't have become a tree. Sometimes I wish I had stayed a tree, instead. Sometimes I wish that when Luke had visited and asked me to help him, I'd have listened. Everything was just a wish.

"We'll get Annabeth back," he said, his resolve firm. "I just don't know how yet."

Oh, yeah, _that's _real comforting. "First I found out that Luke is lost, now Annabeth –"

"Don't think like that," he interrupted.

"You're right," I admitted, straightening up. "We'll find a way."

We walked by the basketball court. The Huntresses were playing basketball, and one of them was arguing with an Ares kid. Great, just what we needed.

"I'll break that up," I told him. Who knows, maybe I'd be justified in punching one of them – and I can guarantee it won't be the Ares kid. "You circulate around the cabins. Tell everybody about capture the flag tomorrow."

"All right. You should be team captain," he offered.

"No, no. You've been at camp longer. You do it," I insisted.

"We can, uh… co-captain or something."

I didn't feel very comfortable about that idea, and I wasn't sure I wanted to do it. Then I noticed that he looked uncomfortable, too, and I realized he was probably doing this in an effort to be nice. I nodded.

I started to head over to the court, but then I heard Percy yell, "Hey, Thalia."

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry about what happened at Westover," he said. I felt a pang in my chest. I missed Annabeth too much. I need a hobby. "I should've waited for you guys." Yes. Yes he should have. I decided not to tell him that, though.

"'S okay, Percy. I probably would've done the same thing." Which was true. I just would have done it better. But I realized that I had something to apologize for, too. "You know, you asked about my mom and I kinda snapped at you. It's just… I went back to find her after seven years –" if you could call an Iris Message going to find her "—and I found out she died in Los Angeles. She, um… she was a heavy drinker, and apparently she was out driving late one night about two years ago, and…"

I swallowed. Bad memories. Why was I getting so emotional now? After I'd tried so hard to just forget about everything? I had lost my mother, then Luke, and now Annabeth. Who would be next?

"I'm sorry," he said. You know, now that I think about it, Annabeth was right. Percy was a nice guy.

"Yeah, well. It's… it's not like we were ever close. I ran away when I was ten. Best two years of my life were when I was running around with Luke and Annabeth. But still –"

"That's why you had trouble with the sun van," he interrupted. What? Had I said something that led him to realize I was afraid of heights? I don't remember saying something like that.

I looked at him warily. "What do you mean?"

"The way you stiffened up. You must've been thinking about your mom, not wanting to get behind the wheel."

Yeah, sure, _that _was it. Well, at least he didn't know about my fear of heights. But still, the fact that he would _assume _my motives behind things that I didn't even want to talk about was very infuriating. I mean, who asked him to figure out how I think? In fact, who asked him to even care? Why did he have to poke his nose into someone else's business? If he wasn't so intrusive and impulsive, then maybe he wouldn't have lost Annabeth. So much for being a nice guy. Stupid Seaweed Brain.

Well, okay maybe the whole 'lost Annabeth' thing is a bit much. It wasn't entirely his fault. Mostly, but not entirely. And… well, it was nice to know that someone besides Annabeth could be considered a friend. Well, and Grover, of course. Plus, it would be no use to yell at him. He felt bad enough as it is. He was still beating himself up over Annabeth. The Seaweed Brain was so blind he couldn't see that he was head over heels in love with her.

I decided to spare him from the yelling. "Yeah," I muttered. "Yeah, that must've been it."

I walked over to the basketball court. After talking about my mom, now I was _really _hoping to punch one of those stupid Huntresses.

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	23. What's with all the surprise visitors!

**Sorry about the delay!!!!!!!!!! Writer's block = evil. Takes me weeks to write. :(**

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**I don't own PJO.**

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Campers vs. Huntresses. Awesome vs. Annoying. Us vs. Them. Any way you put it was right. I was so looking forward to kicking their butts in this little match. I'd show them who was superior.

"I'll take the offense," I told Percy. "You take defense."

"Oh," he replied. He sounded disappointed. "Don't you think with your shield and all, you'd be better defense?" he asked.

Ha! Yeah, as if I was going to let him do offense. He might mess it up, the Seaweed Brain. Besides, I wanted to be the one to kick some Huntress ass. Of course, I couldn't say that. I had to sound professional. Sounding like a brat would lead to a fight, and I didn't need that right now.

"Well, I was thinking it would make better offense. Besides, you've had more practice at defense." Annabeth had told me that. I didn't know the story, but I knew he'd been defense.

"Yeah, no problem," he responded, with a tone that I couldn't quite read.

"Cool," I said, glad he'd agreed. I did like Percy, despite what I said and did sometimes. I didn't like fighting with him. It just usually ended up that way.

I helped some of the Aphrodite kids get their armor on. They were definitely not used to fighting. I was kind of impressed that they'd even wanted to fight the Huntresses. It showed better taste in people than I thought they were capable of.

Chiron cracked his hoof onto the floor of the pavilion. "Heroes!" he yelled. "You know the rules! The creek is the boundary line. Blue team – Camp Half-Blood – shall take the west woods. Hunters of Artemis – red team – shall take the east woods. I will serve as referee and battlefield medic." That might be needed for any Huntress I went against. "No intentional maiming, please!" Well, there went some of my plans. It was almost like he read my mind… Stupid centaur. "All magic items are allowed. To your positions!"

"Blue team! Follow me!" I yelled. I heard a lot of cheering as I carried the flag to Zeus's Fist. When we set the flag down, Percy and I told everyone their positions. "We'll send a decoy to the left. Silena, you lead that."

"Got it!" she said, by far the most enthusiastic of the Aphrodite campers.

"Take Laurel and Jason. They're good runners. Make a wide arc around the Hunters, attract as many as you can. I'll take the main raiding party around to the right and catch them by surprise."

They all nodded. "Anything to add, Percy?" I asked. He was co-captain, after all.

"Um, yeah. Keep sharp on defense. We've got four guards, two scouts. That's not much for a big forest. I'll be roving. Yell if you need help."

"And don't leave your post!" I added.

"Unless you see a golden opportunity."

I made a face. Was he challenging me or something? I thought we were getting along. "Just don't leave your post," I insisted.

"Right, unless –"

"Percy!" I yelled, exasperated. I shocked him. "Sorry," I said, trying to sound like I meant it. I don't think it worked so well. "Now, is everybody clear?"

They all nodded again. The horn sounded. It was _so _on. My group waited for a little bit after Silena, Laurel, and Jason left, and then we ran to the right. We kept running.

Suddenly, arrows started flying. "They spotted us!" I warned. I used Aegis to deflect the arrows coming towards me and kept running. I hoped my teammates weren't far behind me. We managed to get to their base, but nothing was there. I spotted something in my peripheral vision and saw… Percy. With a flag. Their flag. Wonderful. "Percy!" I yelled. "What are you _doing?"_

I ran towards him, but an arrow landed at my feet. Yellow smoke exploded around my team. We all starting choking. It smelled like rotten eggs. "No fair!" I managed to yell. If you could die from a horrible smell, then I would die a slow and painful death today. "Fart arrows are unsportsmanlike!"

Percy kept running. When I thought he might actually make it, I saw Zoë. She was running, too – with our flag. And she was closer.

"No!" I heard Percy yell. He ran faster, but he wasn't going to make it.

Next thing I knew, Chiron was yelling, "The Hunters win!" He muttered something afterwards, but I didn't hear. I was too angry. This was all his fault. Why couldn't he just do what he was told? Even after what had happened to Annabeth?

That fresh pain made me even angrier. "Perseus Jackson!" I screamed. "What in the name of the gods were you THINKING?"

His hands clenched into fists. I barely noticed. "I got the flag, Thalia! I saw a chance and I took it!"

"I WAS AT THEIR BASE!" I screeched. Everyone was crowded around us, but at a distance. A very safe distance. "But the flag was gone. If you hadn't butted in, we would've won."

"You had too many on you!" he protested.

"Oh, so it's my fault?" Ugh! He made me so ANGRY!

"I didn't say that."

"Argh!" I shoved him. He flew back ten feet. I turned pale. As mad as I was, I didn't mean to hurt him… that much. "Sorry! I didn't mean too –"

My apology was cut short when he sent a wave at my face, drenching me. "Yeah. I didn't mean to, either."

"Enough!" I heard Chiron yell. I barely heard him.

"You want some, Seaweed Brain?"

"Bring it on, Pinecone Face!" Pinecone face?! Oh, that does it!

I yelled, and a bolt of lightning struck him.

"Thalia!" Chiron yelled. "That is _enough!"_

I wasn't really listening. It was hard to when _the entire creek was rising in the air. _I suddenly regretted getting mad. I wondered if even Percy and I could forgive each other after this fight.

"Percy!" Chiron practically begged.

He looked so mad… and then the water fell back. He was looking past me, shock on his face, his eyes wide. I turned around.

I was pretty speechless, too, when I saw what was walking towards us.

"This is impossible," Chiron whispered. "It… she has never left the attic. Never." Whoa, seriously? Does she have agoraphobia or something?

Then the Oracle was standing in the middle of us. _I am the spirit of Delphi, _she said. _Speaker of the prophecies of Phoebus Apollo, slayer of the mighty Python._

She turned to Zoë. Why was it that the Huntresses were always the ones who got special attention? _Approach, Seeker, and ask._

"What must I do to help my goddess?" she asked. Of course. They never could ask anything original.

Green mist came out of her mouth and took the shape of Artemis, chained to a bunch of rocks. The Oracle spoke.

_Five shall go west to the goddess in chains,_

_One shall be lost in the land without rain,_

_The bane of Olympus shows the trail,_

_Campers and Hunters combined prevail,_

_The Titan's curse must one withstand,_

_And one shall perish by a parent's hand._

What the hell was that supposed to mean?!

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